US imposes new sanctions on Syria

US officials said the country has just imposed new sanctions targeting individuals, organizations and networks supporting the government of Syrian President al-Assad.

In a statement, the US Treasury Department said the reason for imposing sanctions was because the Damascus government had caused destabilizing actions in Syria, such as conducting attacks and using many types of dangerous weapons.

Syrian soldiers. Photo: oananews.org.

The sanctions target eight individuals and seven entities, including the Syrian Engineering and Construction Company, the Syrian Energy Company, and several Russian-based companies that the US says provide financial resources to the Syrian Ministry of Defense. The US blacklist also includes several individuals and companies that regularly conduct international money transfers for the Damascus government.

Accordingly, individuals will have their assets abroad frozen while organizations are banned from using the US banking system and prevented from participating in international financial transactions.

In September 2014, the US and its allies such as Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Qatar intervened militarily in Syria under the pretext of fighting the self-proclaimed Islamic State.

In an effort to support the Damascus government, Russia in late September 2015 also launched airstrikes against terrorist groups in Syria.

The Syrian civil war since its outbreak in 2011 has claimed the lives of more than 47,000 people, forced more than ten million people to flee their homes and caused a dire humanitarian crisis in this Middle Eastern country./.

According to VOV