The EU adopted new sanctions on Syria

The European Union Foreign Affairs Council decided to expand EU restrictive measures against Syria,Interfax reports.

“In view of the unacceptable repression carried out by the Syrian regime against the population of the country, the Council today strengthened EU restrictive measures against those responsible for human rights violations,” the EU Foreign Affairs Council said in a communiqué issued in Brussels.

To the list of individuals and organizations whose assets in Europe are frozen and who are prohibited from entering the EU, the Council added 22 representatives of the Damascus regime guilty of human rights violations and 8 organizations providing financial support to the Assad regime.

Last November, the League of Arab States (LAS) adopted a package of economic sanctions against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In particular, a ban was imposed on transactions with the Syrian Central Bank and financing of any projects in Syria was stopped. The Arab League also froze the accounts of some Syrian officials in the banks of Arab League member countries and banned them from entering Arab states. In mid-November, the League also suspended Syria's membership. At the same time, EU countries banned trade with Syria, providing loans to it and trading in Syrian debt obligations.

The EU and Arab League sanctions were a response to ongoing riots in which more than five thousand people have died since March 2011. According to human rights activists, the Syrian military, subordinate to the Assad regime, bears direct responsibility for the deaths of civilians.