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Syria's crackdown on demonstrations has led the European Union to expand its sanctions against the country, imposing asset freezes and travel bans against five more military and government officials on Monday. Sanctions already included President Bashar Assad.
The Syrian government launched a new push against protesters as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began, killing dozens, according to human rights groups.
Rome decided to recall its envoy "in order to send a strong signal of condemnation for the unacceptable repression," said an Italian Foreign Ministry undersecretary, Stefania Craxi.
Rome's appeal to fellow EU nations was not immediately heeded. Spain, Britain, and Belgium said they had no such plans for now, and there was no EU-wide directive to recall envoys from Damascus, officials in Brussels said.
Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague said tougher EU sanctions were sending a "clear and unambiguous" message.
"In the absence of an end to the senseless violence and a genuine process of political reform, we will continue to pursue further EU sanctions," he said in a statement. Without change, he added, "President Assad and those around him will find themselves isolated internationally and discredited within Syria."
In Rome, Craxi said Assad appeared "incapable" of handling the situation and implementing the serious reforms that both his citizens and the international community demand, the ANSA news agency reported. Craxi was briefing lawmakers on the situation in Syria.
Rome will also suspend cooperative programs with Damascus, save for humanitarian aid destined to Iraqi refugees, Craxi said, according to ANSA.
On Monday, Syrian forces shelled the city of Hama for a second day and fired at worshippers heading to Ramadan prayers. Violence on Sunday left 74 people dead throughout the country, 55 of them from Hama and nearby, according to rights groups.
President Barack Obama said the latest attacks were "outrageous."
More than 1,600 civilians have been killed in a crackdown on largely peaceful protests since a popular uprising began in Syria in mid-March.
The EU said Tuesday that people targeted in its expanded sanctions' list include Syria's defense minister, Ali Habib Mahmud, and the head of the army's internal security, Maj. Gen. Tawfiq Younes.
The list brings the number of targeted individuals to 35. Four government entities are also on the list.
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