EU slaps sanctions on more Syrian businessmen, entities

By Ata Ufuk Seker

BRUSSELS (AA) - The European Union on Monday added 11 businessmen and five entities to the sanction list as part of restrictive measures against Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime and its supporters.

In a statement, the European Commission said the sanctions list now includes 270 persons and 72 entities that are targeted by a travel ban and an asset freeze.

The individuals and entities were involved in luxury estate projects and other regime-backed projects, the statement said.

The sanctions currently in place against the Assad regime include an oil embargo, restrictions on certain investments, a freeze of the assets of the Syrian central bank in the EU, and export restrictions on equipment and technology that might be used for internal repression.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.