SOPOT, Poland, Sept 3 (Reuters) - The European Union imposed a ban on purchases of Syrian oil on Saturday and warned of further steps unless President Bashar al-Assad's government ends its five-month crackdown on dissent.
The sanctions mark the first time Europe has targeted Syrian industry in a bid to stem the violence, which claimed another four lives on Saturday and has so far killed more than 2,200 people, according to the United Nations.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three people were killed after security forces went into the village of Haysh near the second city Aleppo looking for attorney general Adnan Bakkour, who resigned last month in a video posted on YouTube.
Bakkour's resignation, if confirmed, would be the first high-profile defection during the recent uprising.
