DAMASCUS (AFP) – Syria denounced US sanctions targeting President Bashar al-Assad and top aides, saying Thursday they were part of long-time efforts by Washington to serve Israeli interests.
The Syrian Revolution 2011, a Facebook group spurring anti-regime protests, called for nationwide demonstrations on Friday for "liberty and national unity."

France, which has been pushing for a UN resolution condemning repression in Syria, urged the Damascus authorities to send troops deployed in cities and towns back to their barracks, free detainees and launch reforms.
And Al-Jazeera journalist Dorothy Parvaz, jailed in Syria for three days before being sent to Iran, told the Qatari news channel of "savage beatings" of prisoners by Syrian security agents who behaved like "thugs."
"The US measures are part of a series of sanctions imposed by successive US administrations against the Syrian people as part of a regional scheme, aimed primarily at serving Israel's interests," SANA news agency said.

"Any aggression against Syria is akin to US support for Israeli aggressions against Syria and the Arabs," the state news agency said.
Sanctions "have not and will not" affect decisions taken by the Syrian government or its struggle against US hegemony.
In slapping the sanctions on Wednesday, the United States told Assad to lead a transition toward democracy or step down.

For two months, pro-democracy protests have challenged the regime, which has retaliated with deadly force, sweeping arrests and torture, rights activists say.
The Syrian Revolution for 2011 said Friday's protests should include Kurdish towns in the north, labelling the day "Friday of Freedom, Azadi," or liberty in Kurdish.

In Paris, French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said "repression is worsening in Syria, while information about the existence of mass graves and testimony on torture is accumulating."
"The army must return to the barracks, detainees must be set free, real political dialogue and real reforms meeting the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people must be launched," he said.

Adding to claims of torture was Al-Jazeera journalist Dorothy Parvaz, who arrived in Qatar on Wednesday from Iran after having been held in a Syrian prison where, she said, she heard the cries of people being tortured.
"I was in a Syrian detention centre for three days, two nights, and what I heard were just savage beatings," she said Thursday.
"At a certain point you want to cover your ears -- it seemed endless, mid-morning to late at night. At random times you would hear beatings and screams and cries."

More than 850 people are believed to have been killed and another 8,000 arrested since the protests began, according to rights groups and the United Nations. Syria blames "armed gangs" for the bloodshed.
In imposing the sanctions, the US administration stopped short of saying Assad had lost his legitimacy to rule, a formula Washington has applied to Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, whose forces are fighting an armed rebellion.
"We are saying that we oppose his behaviour and that he needs to stop his policies of repression and mass arrests and begin a political transition that ensures fair representation and democratic rights for Syrians," said the executive order issued by President Barack Obama.
"It is up to Assad to lead a political transition or to leave," it added.

The sanctions allow Washington to freeze any assets owned in the United States by Assad and his top aides and ban any individuals or US companies from dealing with them. But it is unclear what assets would be blocked.
Sanctions were also slapped on Syrian Vice President Faruq al-Shara, Prime Minister Adel Safar, Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim al-Shaar, Defence Minister Ali Habib Mahmud, military intelligence chief Abdul Fatah Qudsiya and Mohammed Dib Zaitoun, director of the Political Security Directorate.
Also named were Ali Mamluk, director of Syria's Intelligence Directorate, and Atif Najib, the ex-head of intelligence in Daraa province, epicentre of protests that has gripped Syria since March 15.

The US Treasury also imposed sanctions on Syria's Military Intelligence, National Security Bureau and the Air Force Intelligence, as well as on Hafiz Makhluf, a cousin of Assad.
The European Union has slapped sanctions on members of Assad's inner circle and said it is also contemplating targeting the president, while France is trying to get support for a UN resolution condemning Syria.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon told AFP Wednesday he had been urging Assad to carry out reforms "before it is too late."