EU extends sanctions against Assad regime

By Yusuf Hatip

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AA) - The EU on Monday added seven ministers to a list of sanctions as part of restrictive measures against Bashar al-Assad regime in Syrian and its supporters.

The European Commission said the sanctions list now includes 277 people and 72 entities that are targeted by a travel ban and an asset freeze.

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 regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.