Dubai: Syrian forces bombed towns and clashed with rebels in several regions on Friday as thousands staged anti-regime protests and the European Union slapped sanctions on the country's First Lady.
In Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council ordered an extension of a probe into violations in Syria, and asked investigators to map out abuses since a deadly crackdown on protests in the country erupted in March 2011.
UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan will meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his visit to Moscow tomorrow, besides his travel to China.
The EU agreed to a travel ban and asset freeze on President Bashar Al Assad's British-born wife Asma, his mother, sister and sister-in-law and eight other ministers.
The decision came on a day of renewed violence, with the army firing at least 24 mortar rounds into Homs, killing up to eight civilians, opposition supporters said. Security forces opened fire at demonstrators in Hama province, also in the centre.
Demonstrators in all the hot spots who protested under the slogan of "Damascus, here we come," numbered hundreds of thousands.
