DAMASCUS - Hundreds of Syrians on Sunday staged a sit-in before the United States embassy in Damascus to protest the US intervention in Syria's internal affairs, state SANA news agency reported.

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The protesters shouted slogans to refuse the "double standards policy" of the US and said the US intervention would only "strengthen the unity of the Syrian people," according to SANA.

The US administration imposed sanctions on three top Syrian officials and Syria's intelligence agency over what it said a crackdown on protests.

Syria is already under US sanctions because it has been designated a "state sponsor of terrorism" by the US state department, however, the new sanctions extend the penalties to individuals.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that "the US is looking at boosting sanctions it has already imposed on Syrian leaders."

Syria has been wracked by more than seven weeks of protests amid calls for sweeping reforms. The Syrian authorities blamed the violent incidents on "armed terrorist groups."