Syrian tanks enter eastern city

Syrian tanks have stormed the eastern city of Deir el-Zour and troops made sweeping arrests there as the regime faces calls for an arms embargo and other sanctions.

Activist group the Local Co-ordination Committees said tanks arrived around dawn.

The city has emerged as a flashpoint in the five-month-old uprising. Deir el-Zour is an oil-rich but largely impoverished region known for its well-armed clans and tribes whose ties extend across eastern Syria and into Iraq.

On Tuesday European nations and the US circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution seeking an arms embargo and other sanctions aimed at stopping the government's crackdown on protesters.

AP