The United States imposed, today, Wednesday, new sanctions on 17 individuals and entities in Syria, including prominent Syrian military leaders. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet on Twitter that the sanctions targeted "Assad´s military and government leaders and corrupt businessmen, as well as companies benefiting from the Syrian conflict."
He added, "The actions of these people deceive the Syrian people and prolong their suffering unnecessarily."
The sanctions included, according to a statement issued by the US State Department, of which "Al-Quds" received a copy, 6 personalities, including the commander of the Fifth Division in the Syrian army, a rebirth due to his role in obstructing and preventing the ceasefire in the country.
Washington also imposed sanctions on Nasreen and Rana Ibrahim, my sister, the financial official in the Syrian government, Yasser Ibrahim.
The US State Department statement said, "Ibrahim´s family is working to strengthen the grip of Assad and his wife on the joints of the economy at a time when the Syrian people face the threat of starvation."
She added, "The sanctions against Syrian officials will not stop until the regime takes steps to end its campaign against the Syrian people and implement Security Council Resolution 2254."
In the last period, the US Treasury Department imposed, according to the Caesar Act, which came into force last June, on more than 50 individuals and entities, who have a direct relationship with financing the Syrian regime.
The sanctions, which have hit the Syrian President, Bashar Al-Assad, and his wife Asma, are the most severe on Syria.
And last July, Washington announced a new list of 14 additional entities and individuals, including Hafez, 18, the eldest son of the Syrian president.
Under these sanctions, Hafez, who carries the name of his grandfather who held the presidency of Syria until his death in 2000, can no longer travel to the United States where his assets will be frozen.
The Syrian president, in turn, has been subject to US sanctions since the protests began in 2011, and they quickly turned into a devastating conflict that killed more than 380,000 people and displaced millions.
