The initiative is reportedly aimed at increasing pressure on Assad who is blamed by the West for attacks in Aleppo.
On Thursday, the Council of the European Union imposed sanctions on ten more people affiliated with the Syrian government bringing the total number of those sanctioned to 217. Brussels considered those Syrians responsible for violence against the country’s population, and therefore froze their assets and imposed a travel ban on them. Furthermore, the assets of 69 organizations were frozen.
This spring, the European Union extended sanctions against the Syrian regime until June 1, 2017. In general, restrictive measures against Syria include oil embargo, restrictions on the number of investments, freezing of assets of the Syrian Central Bank, restrictions on the export of equipment and technologies that can be used for internal repression, surveillance and interception of Internet traffic and telephone conversations.
