Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi has said its approval of unprecedented sanctions has sent a very serious political message to Syria. Al-Arabi told the (BBC) that the Syrian government could not carry on as if it was business as usual. He said new sanctions recently agreed by Arab states would come into force on Saturday unless Syria kept its promises. Syria’s foreign minister has described the sanctions as “economic war”. In a BBC interview at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, al-Arabi said the Arab League had agreed to sanctions “with a heavy heart”. “We have sent a very serious political message” is how the Arab League secretary general described the sanctions. Al-Arabi said they were a message to Damascus: “You have to behave, you have to stop what is going on, it’s not business as usual. Something has to happen.” The secretary general responded to Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mouallem’s denunciation of the sanctions. “No one wants to hurt the Syrian people,” he insisted. “No one wants to embarrass the Syrian government.” He said the Syrian people were paying “a very heavy price” during an uprising now entering its ninth month. The UN says violence has left more than 3,500 dead.