FRANCE PRESS

DAMASCUS: Another three deaths in Syria were reported on Friday, a traditional day for protests, as the EU and Switzerland both said they were widening sanctions against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Security forces shot dead two civilians in separate incidents near the central city of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement, also reporting the death of a man wounded the day before.

"One demonstrator was killed when security forces opened fire on a march in Talbisseh, while another was shot dead and three more were wounded when they gathered after Friday prayers in the village of Al-Zaafarana," the group said.

"The sound of heavy machinegun fire was heard in Talbisseh."
In Zabadani, some 45 kilometers (28 miles) northwest of the capital Damascus, a passerby shot as security forces chased demonstrators late on Thursday died of his wounds.

The Observatory also said nearly 2,000 people staged a demonstration in the eastern oil hub of Deir al-Zour, calling for Assad's downfall, and that security forces were trying to disperse them.
The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva has said the death toll from the crackdown on dissent since March 15 had risen to more than 2,700.

Protest organisers have used the Facebook page, "Syrian Revolution 2011" to rally support against the regime.
They have called for Friday protests under the banner "Unity of the Opposition" to overthrow the regime, which they termed "a national duty."

Friday, the main Muslim day of prayer, has become a rallying point for anti-regime demonstrations, as thousands of people surge into the streets to be met with a harsh security crackdown.
The latest deaths come as both the European Union and Switzerland announced they were widening sanctions against Damascus over its deadly crackdown on dissent.
The European Union banned new investments in the oil sector and prohibited the delivery of banknotes to the Syrian central bank.

"The EU restrictive measures are designed to have maximum impact on the Syrian regime, while minimising any potential negative impacts on the Syrian population," EU chief diplomat Catherine Ashton said in Brussels.
The 27-member EU also added two individuals and six companies to a list of people and entities facing an assets freeze and travel ban, a diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
The new measures, the seventh set of EU sanctions imposed to punish Assad's regime for its relentless crackdown, will come into force on Saturday.

Earlier this month, the EU adopted a ban on crude oil imports expected to hit Damascus hard, as the EU buys 95 percent of Syrian oil exports, providing a third of the regime's hard currency earnings.
Switzerland also announced on Friday that it was imposing an embargo on the import, sales and transport of Syrian oil and oil products.

"Due to the relentless repression imposed by the Syrian security forces, the Federal Council has decided to tighten sanctions against Syria," said the Swiss economy ministry in a statement.
Its sanctions will also take effect on Saturday.

Switzerland had already targeted the Assad regime with travel embargos and asset freezes on 54 individuals. Some 12 companies were also been hit by the restrictions.
Syrian assets frozen in Switzerland currently stand at 45 million francs (37 million euros, $50 million).
Damascus does not accept that popular opposition to the authorities exists, instead blaming "armed gangs" and "terrorists" for trying to sow chaos.

On Thursday, the official news agency SANA said five members of the security forces were killed and 17 wounded in an ambush by "armed terrorist groups" in the southern Daraa province, one of the main springboards of opposition.
It also reported a customs official killed by "armed men" and two members of the security forces wounded in Qseir south of Homs.

The Local Coordination Committees (LCC) Thursday reported three civilians killed in Homs, while in Daeel in Daraa province security forces shot at students, wounding some and arresting others.
Pro-democracy activists also voiced support for the opposition Syrian National Council set up in August in Turkey at the initiative of Syrian Islamists.