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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Wednesday imposed its toughest sanctions ever targeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to choke off revenue for his government in a bid to force it back to United Nations-led negotiations and broker an end to the country\\\’s nearly decade-long war.
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The fresh round of penalties on Syria, which designate Assad and his wife Asma personally, come at a time when Assad is grappling with a deepening economic crisis after a decade of war and amid a rare outbreak of protests in government-held areas.
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In a statement announcing the designations imposed under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act – signed by President Donald Trump in December – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said \\\’many more\\\’ sanctions should be expected in the coming weeks and months.
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“We will not stop until Assad and his regime stop their needless, brutal war against the Syrian people and the Syrian government agrees to a political solution to the conflict,” Pompeo said.
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He said the 39 designated individuals and companies have played a key role in obstructing a peaceful political solution to the conflict, and singled out Asma al-Assad.
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“I will make special note of the designation for the first time of\\xc2\\xa0Asma\\xc2\\xa0al-Assad, the wife of Bashar al-Assad, who with the support of her husband and members of her\\xc2\\xa0Akhras\\xc2\\xa0family has become one of Syria\\xe2\\x80\\x99s most notorious war profiteers,” he said.
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Syrian authorities blame Western sanctions for widespread hardship among ordinary residents, where the currency collapse has led to soaring prices and people struggling to afford food and basic supplies.
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(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Alex Richardson and Nick Zieminski)
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