General strike in Syria

Syrian protesters have called for a one-day nationwide general strike, urging students to skip school and workers to bring commerce to a halt in a new strategy of defiance against government crackdowns that appear to be becoming more brutal and bloody.

The strike, planned for Wednesday, marks a shift by opposition forces to strike at President Bashar Assad's regime from new angles: its economic underpinnings and ability to keep the country running during two months of widening battles.

A sweeping popular acceptance of the strike call would be an embarrassing blow to Assad and show support for the uprising in places, such as central Damascus, where significant protests have yet to take hold and security forces have choked off the few that have taken place.

"It will be a day of punishment for the regime from the free revolutionaries ... Massive protests, no schools, no universities, no stores or restaurants and even no taxis. Nothing," a statement posted on the main Facebook page of the Syrian Revolution 2011 said.

The strike call came as the United States and European Union planned new sanctions against the Syrian leadership.

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, warned on Tuesday of more pressure on Syria if the crackdown against pro-democracy protests continues.

Clinton said that both the European Union and the United States - which have already slapped sanctions on a number of senior Syrian officials but not on president al-Assad - were planning more steps.

"We will be taking additional steps in the days ahead," Clinton said, saying she agreed with Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, who told reporters that the time for Syria to make changes was now.
Meanwhile, watchdog groups and Syrians fleeing into neighboring Lebanon added to the accounts of violence.

A Syrian rights activist, Mustafa Osso, said government agents chased and beat students taking part in a protest against Assad's regime at a university in Aleppo, Syria's second-largest largest city.

Security officials in Lebanon said at least 170 people entered the country Tuesday, including a 2-year-old girl with a shrapnel wound in her chest.

A pro-democracy activist in the central city of Homs expressed support for the nationwide strike, calling it "the only way to hurt the regime without putting people's lives at risk".

Yet the activist, speaking by phone to The Associated Press news agency, doubted the response would be big.

"The majority of businessmen and merchants are either supportive of the regime or fear for the businesses. They have too much to lose," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.