and i think arwa is right. you send the boy home in order to scare the syrian people into submission. because the rulers are surprised that the syrian people are no longer afraid. >> and arwa, it's very difficult because we can't get independent access to syria. but we do see some increase in the protests since this incident. can we have a sense, do you have any sense of your sources in reporting, that perhaps we're getting to a critical mass? >> reporter: well, john, if the intent of the regime was to terrorize people off of the streets, this most certainly appears to have had the opposite effect. there were a number of demonstrations over the weekend following the parents receiving hamza's body. people out on the streets chanting that hamza's blood will not have been spilt in vain, chanting their support. we've seen a facebook page emerging that now has close to 60,000 members, people seemingly even more galvanized by the fact that this atrocious act did take place or at least is alleged to have taken place.

arwa damon joins us from the capital beirut. hi there, arwa. what kind of reaction is there likely to be against sanctions and will it have any effect? >> well, zain we have continuously seen the syrian regime remaining defiant in the face of international condemnation, in the face of the sangs that were recently additional sanctions slapped on by the u.s. and that is pretty much the same reaction that we do expect in response to the eu's initial report that it put out on monday. we saw syrian foreign minister coming out on syrian state television saying these measures by the european union were, quote, another black page of europe's record to colonialism in the region. he said these measures would harm both europe and syria alike, saying the response would be to strengthen its ties with china, russia and latin america to prove to the world it is not made up simply of america and the west. you also said that history has prove than syria does not succumb to pressure. that gives you an idea of what the regime's stance is expected to be, and syria

arwa damon has been following the story. she joins us now. there are many who will say while these sanctions don't have a lot of practicality and teeth behind them, it's certainly symbol symbolic. >> reporter: it most certainly would appear to be that way, monita. in fact, the impact they're actually going to have is not likely to be all that severe when it comes to how the syrian regime is choosing to deal with the uprising within its own borders. these sanctions are basically financial, they're freezing at sets of president assad and six of his top government officials. they are barring u.s. persons from doing business with those against whom they are leave individual. at this stage it's not known exactly how much financial assets syria actually has in the united states. analysts in fact believe the bulk of syria's assets would be in europe or more likely in the middle east. but at this stage, they do most certainly send a message to the syrian president, to the regime as a whole that they will be held accountable. whether or not that messa

nic robertson and arwa damon in beirut.e's a big question, as the question says i'll be on the side of the reformers, united states will help you. is he viewed in the region as relevant? >> well, i have to say that this revolution is an ongoing thing and very much there is a lot of skepticism about the american role in egypt, for instance. there's a lot of resentment over the fact for decades the united states was a very close partner of hosni mubarak providing him with billions of dollars in economic and military aid. it was only at the very last minute that the united states dropped him like a hot potato and threw in support for the revolution. you have decades of passions of resentment that have finally been freed with the fall of these regimes. and therefore, a lot of that passion resentment and anger is being focused at the united states and no fault of his own necessarily because he's only been in office for just over two years, but at barack obama himself, john. >> it was striking listening to the president. he noted

do the people there, arwa, still believe in him, the egyptians?well, when it comes to the egyptians, if president obama doesn't put forth a concrete package that is going to help them move this difficult process that they are in, most certainly the prospective towards the president and the united states could possibly change on one level but one has to realize that when it comes to america and how he's viewed in not just america but in the region as a whole, they are skewed towards israel. the perception outside of egyptian, for example, here in lebanon, is that the u.s. continues to be selective where and when it is going to choose to support these types of democratic movements and so for the region as a whole, it's going to take a lot more for the u.s. to push that reset button. one man we were speaking to earlier said that he would love to see the u.s. apply the same type of compassion to arabs as they do to israelis. >> what about the people in yemen? do they still believe in president obama? >> reporter: the people in yemen, i was there in fe

here is arwa damon. >> reporter: wolf, when we see the images coming out of syria, the path that the regime continues to take seems pretty clear. they are aiming to clear. a voice yells off camera. this is video said to be from the city of hopes, which has seen many protests in recent weeks. it was posted to youtube. cnn cannot verify its authenticity or when it was shot. but one opposition activist told cnn on friday that the security forces fired straight in crowds of demonstrators and the syrian human rights information link reported a mounting death poll throughout the day. a similar scene where men wearing what appeared to be syrian security force uniforms are seen firing. once again, they became the rallying point for protests throughout the country. some called for the toppling of the regime. others chanted that they would prefer death over humiliation. the government insists that protests are being organized by terrorists and outside forces and has declployed the army to several cities. after several hundred deaths, these people know that it can be fatal to take to the street

>> cnn's arwa damon reporting. >>> in libya, explosions rocked the rebel-held towns in the country's west on sunday as nato airstrikes hit moammar gadhafi's compound in tripoli, according to his government. that came as the european union's foreign policy chief landed in benghazi. katherine ashton meeting with key players in the opposition national transitional council, and says the eu will open an office in the city to offer continuing support to the rebel government. >>> as the libyan conflict grinds on there are reports of a brutal tactic. cnn's sarah sidener talks to akol gist who claims that in libya, rape is being used as a weapon of war. >> reporter: what appears to be a cigarette burn on a woman's breast. bruised skin and faded bite marks, these are exclusive pictures shared with cnn by psychologist in libya. who says they are snapshots of women who have been beaten and raped in libya's war. >> i interviewed around 140 women. >> and what did these women tell you about their experiences during this conflict. >> they said they had been raped by gadhafi's militia. >> she said sh