The opposition in Syria on Tuesday launched an appeal for a general strike for Wednesday, once again defying the regime of Bashar al-Assad, subjected to increasing pressures abroad, the United States announcing measures " Extra "in" coming days ".
"Wednesday will be a day of general strike in Syria," said a statement posted on the Facebook page "Syrian Revolution 2011," Engine of the protest movement launched in mid-March against the regime.
"Let's make Wednesday a Friday (usual day of events), with massive demonstrations, no school, no university, no shops or restaurants open, not even taxis."
The unprecedented protest movement of the system continues despite the magnitude of the repression that has, according to NGOs, over 800 deaths and at least 8,000 arrests.
The head of American diplomacy, Hillary Clinton announced that "additional measures" would be taken "in the days to come" in response to this repression. She has also accused Damascus of having "adopted the worst tactics of its ally Iran."
She was speaking after talks with the EU diplomatic representative, Catherine Ashton, who called the situation "extremely alarming".
Ashton said she traveled to Washington to "discuss what we can do.""It is extremely urgent that the Syrian government to act," she said, failing which the international community would consider "all options".
The French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on his part that a majority was "taking shape" with the UN to condemn the repression, indicating that a veto threat from Moscow and Beijing on a text still existed.
The countries of the European Union are working to broaden its sanctions against the Syrian regime to a dozen people including President Assad, because of repression, with an expected decision in principle on Monday.
Discussions to this effect were held Tuesday in Brussels between ambassadors from the 27 EU states, according to diplomatic sources.
The EU has already imposed sanctions (freezing of assets, prohibition of entry visas) to 13 Syrian officials including members of the president's family and an arms embargo that could be used for law enforcement purposes .
On the ground, the authorities have denied the existence of a mass grave in Deraa, southern town where the dispute arose, admitting however that five bodies had been discovered there.
"This information is totally false," said an official at the Interior Ministry was quoted by the official SANA news agency, speaking of a "smear campaign (...) fabricated."
SANA, quoting a local official in Dera, said that five bodies had been discovered in the city Sunday and the local prosecutor had opened an investigation. The agency did not specify how the bodies were discovered or how the victims died.
The activist Ammar Qourabi, the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria said Monday the discovery of mass grave, said Tuesday told AFP that a second had been unearthed.
"One contained 24 bodies and another seven, including the five mentioned by the authorities as well as unidentified woman and her son."He called on authorities to investigate.
Rami Abdel Rahman, the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, based in London, he insisted on the existence of a single grave, containing five bodies.
The army had besieged Deraa, located 100 km south of Damascus, April 25 to quell the protest, before beginning its withdrawal on May 5
Rami Abdel Rahman has also reported the arrest Sunday of a leader of the protest, Anas al-Choughri in the coastal city of Banias (west).
More than 800 people, including women and children, were killed in the crackdown and at least 8,000 were arrested, according to human rights organizations of human rights.
The regime of Bashar al-Assad for his part attributed these problems to "armed terrorist groups", some of which are in the pay abroad.
