WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday imposed new
sanctions aimed at cutting off funds for Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad’s government and warned that anyone doing business with
Damascus was also at risk of being blacklisted.
Assad’s son,
Hafez, was among four people and 10 entities, including a Syrian army
unit, targeted by Washington over accusations they either aided
government funding through luxury real estate construction - sometimes
on land belonging to displaced civilians - or prolonged the nearly
decade-long war.
“More
sanctions will follow as part of a sustained campaign of economic and
political pressure to deny the Assad regime the resources it uses to
wage war against the Syrian people,” the White House said in a
statement.
A crackdown
by Assad on protesters in 2011 led to civil war, with Iran and Russia
backing the government and the United States supporting the opposition.
Millions of people have fled Syria and millions more have been
internally displaced.
The
U.S. sanctions, imposed under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act
and other measures, come as Assad grapples with a deepening economic
crisis.
Syria
was already subject to U.S. and European Union sanctions that have
frozen assets of the state and hundreds of companies and individuals.
Washington also bans American export and investment in Syria, as well as
transactions involving oil and hydrocarbon products.
Wednesday’s
action marks the second round of sanctions imposed by Washington under
the Caesar Act, which can freeze the assets of anyone dealing with
Syria, regardless of nationality, and cover many more sectors. It also
targets those dealing with entities in Syria from Russia and Iran.
U.S.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that the sanctions
were intended to push Assad to take irreversible steps toward ending the
country’s war as called for by the United Nations Security Council.
A
senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also
cautioned investors in the Middle East, including Gulf nations, that the
United States would not hesitate to blacklist those who help the Syrian
government “steal land from displaced civilians to profit and support”
Assad’s government.
Syrian
authorities blame Western sanctions for widespread civilian hardship in
the country, where a collapse of the currency has led to soaring prices
and people struggling to afford food and basic supplies.
U.S.
Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft told a Security Council
meeting on Syria on Wednesday that Washington’s sanctions on Syria are
not intended to harm the country’s people and do not target humanitarian
assistance.