Arab foreign ministers agreed a list of sweeping sanctions Sunday designed to cripple the Syrian regime which has defied pressure to halt a bloody crackdown on protests.

The 22-member Arab League agreed to ban Syrian officials from visiting any Arab country, to freeze government assets, suspend flights and halt any transactions with the Syrian government and central bank.

Syrian forces killed at least 15 civilians on Sunday, six of them in the flashpoint region of Homs that has been under siege for several weeks in an operation to crush dissent, a rights group said.

The latest violence came as the Arab League voted to impose a raft of diplomatic and economic sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad's regime for defying an ultimatum to allow observers into the country.

A mainly Armenian suburb of Beirut has stirred controversy over a decision by local officials to expel foreign workers, with some linking the move to the revolt in Syria and others to sheer racism.

The controversy erupted earlier this month when the municipality of Bourj Hammud, located east of the Lebanese capital, requested all foreigners without rental leases leave the area by the end of November.

Hizbullah, Israel, Iran, and Turkey are all gearing up for an escalation in the developments in the region over the crisis in Syria, a diplomat told the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah daily in remarks published on Sunday.

He said Hizbullah is preparing for the confrontation by removing its rockets from its hideouts, noting that last week’s Siddiqin explosion took place when the party hastily set up the rockets.

The British Foreign Ministry is studying the possibility of calling on its nationals and those from the Commonwealth states to evacuate Lebanon in light of western reports from Lebanon, Syria, Israel, and Jordan that said that Lebanon and Syria are on the verge of an escalation, reported the Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah on Sunday.

A British diplomat told the daily that other countries may follow Britain’s example, predicting that the evacuations may take place within a week or two.

Bahrain and Qatar on Sunday called on their citizens to leave unrest-swept Syria after the United Arab Emirates also advised its citizens to stay away.

The call, issued on the day the Arab League was deciding on sanctions against Damascus over its deadly crackdown on dissent, was issued because of instability in Syria, said Bahrain's foreign ministry.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is expected to issue a number of “decisive” positions on several matters during the Mustaqbal Movement’s Tripoli rally scheduled for Sunday afternoon, reported the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat on Sunday.

Mustaqbal politburo member former MP Mustapha Alloush told the daily: “Hariri’s speech during the rally will pave the way for a new phase in Lebanon, especially after the recent events in country and the region.”

Arab finance ministers gathered in Cairo on Saturday drew up a list of economic sanctions against Syria that they will present to foreign ministers for adoption, a communique said.

The recommendation -- which includes a ban on Syrian officials visiting any Arab country and the freezing of government assets -- comes after President Bashar Assad's regime defied an ultimatum to allow in observers amid a lethal crackdown on protest.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem accused the Arab League on Saturday of "internationalizing" the deadly crisis hitting the country since pro-democracy protests began more than eight months ago.

The accusation came in a letter addressed to the Arab League as ministers from the group gathered in Cairo to draw up sanctions against Syria to punish President Bashar Assad's regime for defying an ultimatum to allow in observers and pressing a deadly crackdown.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said on Saturday that any Arab League sanctions against Syria must be compatible with the interests of each member country.

"We support Arab unity in regards to the Syrian issue, but as I said during the Arab League ministerial meeting (on Thursday), the interests of our country must be taken into consideration," Judeh said in joint news conference with his Cypriot counterpart.