US to soon announce new Syria sanctions: official

ACCRA - Agence France- Presse

U.S. President Barack Obama arrives at an election campaign rally in Colorado Springs, August 9, 2012. Obama is in Colorado for a two-day campaign trip. REUTERS/Jason Reed

The United States plans to announce new sanctions targeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime and its supporters, a US State Department official said Friday.

"...One of the key forms of pressure is economic sanctions, which in the coming days or very shortly we will be tightening further with additional sanctions (on) both Syrian entities and those who are supporting the efforts of the Syrian government to oppress its own people," the official said.

The official spoke during US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to the West African nation of Ghana, where she was attending the funeral of president John Atta Mills.

She is due to also briefly visit Benin on Friday before flying to Istanbul for talks on the Syrian crisis.