US to freeze assets of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and senior officials

Sanctions announced by Washington are sign of increased international pressure on regime over crackdown on protesters The US is to impose sanctions on the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad for human rights abuses in an escalation of international pressure on his regime. The penalties announced by the US treasury mark the first time that Assad has been targeted personally by the international community for his government’s crackdown on protesters. The move freezes any assets of Assad and six senior Syrian officials that are in the United States or otherwise fall within US jurisdiction, and generally bars US citizens and companies from dealing with them. “The actions the administration has taken today send an unequivocal message to President Assad, the Syrian leadership, and regime insiders that they will be held accountable for the ongoing violence and repression in Syria,” said David S Cohen, the acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. “President al-Assad and his regime must immediately end the use of violence, answer the calls of the Syrian people for a more representative government, and embark upon the path of meaningful democratic reform,” he added. The six officials targeted with the Syrian president are vice president Farouq al-Shara, prime minister Adel Safar, interior minister Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar, defence minister Ali Habib, Abdul Fatah Qudsiya, the head of Syrian military intelligence, and Mohammed Dib Zaitoun, director of the political security directorate. Barack Obama, who last month imposed sanctions for alleged human rights abuses on Assad’s brother Maher, his cousin and an intelligence chief, will on Thursday deliver a major speech on the uprisings throughout the Arab world, with prominent mentions of Syria. Assad has said his security forces made mistakes during the two-month uprising and blamed poorly-trained police at least in part for the crackdown that has killed more than 850 people. The protests seeking an end to Assad’s 11-year rule began after demonstrations toppled authoritarian regimes in Tunisia and Egypt. European governments agreed on Tuesday to tighten sanctions against the Syrian leadership, but said they would decide next week about whether to include Assad personally on the list. Bashar Al-Assad Syria Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest US foreign policy guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 18, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.