Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is pictured during an interview with Russian television in Damascus
President Bashar al Assad signed a law that imposes the death penalty on anyone who is found guilty of arming "terrorists", the official SANA news agency reported. Reuters

President Bashar al Assad on Tuesday signed a law that imposes the death penalty on anyone who is found guilty of arming "terrorists", the official SANA news agency reported.

"The law provides for the death penalty for anyone providing weapons or helping to provide weapons intended for the carrying out of terrorist acts. The partner and whoever involved in this will be also punished with the same penalty," the SANA report said.

The decree also imposes life imprisonment with hard labour for arms smuggling "for profit or to carry out acts of terrorism", and 15 years' hard labour for engaging in arms smuggling for other purposes.

The law comes a day after Syria signed an accord with the Arab League agreeing to allow up to 500 foreign monitors into the country.

Pressure against the Assad regime increased on Monday after the UN General Assembly passed a resolution condemning human rights violations committed by the government's security forces and called for an immediate end to the violence that has convulsed the country.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the deaths of more than a 100 people in Syria on Monday, including up to 40 civilians and 60 to 70 soldiers who were gunned down while attempting to defect from the army.