Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad answers journalists in Paris, in this December 9, 2010 file picture.

Syria has condemned the imposition of sanctions on its
president by the United States as being “part of a regional scheme, aimed
primarily at serving Israel’s interests,” state media reports.

The Syrian government said that the sanctions “have not
and will not” affect any of its decisions, nor would it affect Syria’s
stand on regional and international politics, the SANA news agency said
Thursday.

The United States imposed sanctions a day earlier on Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad and six senior officials, citing alleged human rights
abuses committed during government crackdowns on pro-democracy protests.

Syria called the move an attempt to “prolong the crisis
in Syria” on the part of the U.S.

“The U.S. measures are part of a series of sanctions
imposed by successive U.S. administrations against the Syrian people as part of
a regional scheme, aimed primarily at serving Israel’s interests,” SANA
said.

The sanctions are part of “an effort to increase
pressure on the government of Syria to end its violence against its people and
begin transitioning to a democratic system,”  a U.S. official told AFP anonymously.

In a letter to congressional leaders, Obama said he issued
the new sanctions order as a response to the Syrian government’s
“continuous escalation of violence against the people of Syria.”

The sanctions will freeze any assets Assad and the six top
Syrian government officials have in U.S. jurisdiction and make it illegal for
Americans to do business with them.

Syrian rights activists say at least 700 civilians have been
killed in two months of clashes between government forces and protesters
seeking an end to Assad’s 11-year rule.

Border town ‘raided’

On Thursday, witnesses in the Lebanese border town of Bekaya
told reporters they could see Syrian troops raiding homes in the town of Areda.
Sporadic gunfire and shelling were heard earlier. Reuters reported Lebanese
soldiers had also deployed near the Lebanese side of the border.

A day earlier, witnesses said the Syrian army resumed
shelling of the western border town of Tal Kalakh for the fourth consecutive
day. Syrians fleeing into Lebanon have said that the town has been besieged by
security forces and that pro-government armed militias have been killing those
deemed to be part of the protest movement.

In the private al-Watan newspaper on Thursday, Assad
admitted that the country’s security forces had made mistakes, blaming poorly
trained police officers.

He said that thousands of police officers were given new
training, and that the “crisis” was near an end. He blamed unrest on
foreign agitators and thugs.

In an interview with AFP on Thursday, Ban Ki-moon, the UN
secretary-general, said that he has been urging Assad to use reforms. “I
have been urging President Assad to engage in dialogue and before it is too
late, try to take bold and decisive measures to meet the expectations of
people,” he said.

Swiss sanctions

The U.S. announcement came as Switzerland also announced new
sanctions on Wednesday, saying that it was following the European Union’s lead
in imposing an embargo on arms and equipment used for internal repression.

EU heavyweight Germany, meanwhile, is pushing for further
sanctions.

Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, has said Russia will
not support any United Nations resolutions on the use of force against the
Syrian government.

“As for a resolution on Syria, I will not support such
a resolution even if my friends and acquaintances ask me about it,”
Medvedev told reporters during a rare news conference on Wednesday.

He did not specify further, adding that such resolutions
were open to interpretation.

In March, Medvedev ordered Russia to abstain from the UN
Security Council resolution on Libya that essentially authorized military
action.

He later accused the West of exceeding the UN’s mandate and of
becoming entangled in a military operation in Libya.

Last month, Moscow clashed with the West at the UN when it
blocked a proposed Security Council statement condemning the Syrian
government’s brutal crackdown on opposition protests.