The Arab League has approved sanctions against Syria to pressure the government to end its eight-month crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, effective immediately.

Syria described the move, announced on Sunday in Cairo, as a betrayal of Arab solidarity.

At a press conference in the Egyptian capital, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, the Qatari foreign minister, said 19 of the bloc's 22 member nations approved the sanctions, including cutting off transactions with the Syrian central bank and halting Arab government funding for projects in Syria.

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