Arab League Votes to Suspend Syria Over Crackdown

[tabatha]

The suspension and threatened sanctions come at a difficult time economically for Syria, with American, European and Turkish officials saying that they believe that the economy remains Mr. Assad’s greatest vulnerability.

European diplomats say a European embargo on Syrian oil has devastated that sector, reducing oil production by as much as 75 percent. Syria’s oil exports represented anywhere from 15 to 35 percent of the state budget, and more than 90 percent of those exports went to Europe. The diplomats say that the Syrian government has not paid foreign oil companies since August, and that Chinese workers have recently begun leaving the oil fields north of Deir al-Zour for home.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/world/middleeast/arab-league-votes-to-suspend-syria-over-its-crackdown-on-protesters.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1