WASHINGTON/DAMASCUS, June 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US has imposed tough new economic sanctions aimed at deterring foreign business activity with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
The measures in the Caesar Act seek to compel the government to “halt its murderous attacks” on civilians and accept a peaceful political transition.
For the first time, Assad’s wife Asma has been targeted personally.
But there are fears that the sanctions will make the plight of ordinary Syrians even more desperate.
The war-torn country is grappling with a worsening economic crisis.
Its currency has plummeted in value on the black market, sending prices of food and medicine soaring and prompting rare protests against President Bashar al-Assad in government-controlled areas.
More than 380,000 people have been killed and 11 million others have been displaced since an uprising against Assad began in 2011.
Government forces have regained control of most of the country with the help of Russia’s military and Iran-backed militiamen.
However, rebels supported by Turkey and jihadists still hold areas in the north-west, while Kurdish-led fighters backed by the US control part of the north-east.
The US has imposed sanctions on Syria for decades, but they were extended in 2011 to press the government to end its bloody crackdown on opponents.
The Caesar Act, which was included in legislation passed in December, is named after a military photographer codenamed “Caesar” who came from Syria with 52,275 images of torture and death from inside government prisons.
It authorises “diplomatic and coercive economic means” to “compel the government of Bashar al-Assad to halt its murderous attacks on the Syrian people and to support a transition to a government in Syria that respects the rule of law, human rights, and peaceful co-existence with its neighbours”.
The act directs the president to impose sanctions on any foreign person:
Providing significant financial, material, or technological support to the Syrian government or to a foreign person operating in a military capacity inside Syria on behalf of the governments of Syria, Russia, or Iran
Selling or providing goods, services, technology or information that facilitates the Syrian government’s production of oil and gas; its purchases or maintenance of military aircraft; and its construction and engineering projects
Entering into contracts related to reconstruction in areas of Syria controlled by the Syrian government and its allies
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Wednesday that sanctions would be imposed on 39 individuals and entities under the act.
“I will make special note of the designation for the first time of Asma al-Assad, the wife of Bashar al-Assad, who with the support of her husband and members of her Akhras family has become one of Syria’s most notorious war profiteers,” he said, without providing any evidence.
There was no immediate comment from Asma, a dual British-Syrian national who worked as an investment banker in London before getting married and now runs a major charity network in Syria.
She has defended the policies of her husband, who has repeatedly denied that his forces have committed atrocities and insisted that they are fighting terrorists.
A Syrian foreign ministry source told the state news agency, Sana, that the US sanctions violated international law and accused officials in Washington of behaving like a “gang”.
“The US administration talking about human rights in Syria exceeds the ugliest forms of lies and hypocrisy as embodied in its policy of supporting terrorism that shed the blood of the Syrians and destroyed their achievements,” the source added.
At a virtual session of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Russian permanent representative Vassily Nebenzi also criticised the sanctions, saying the US had confirmed “that the purpose of these measures is to overthrow the legitimate authorities in Syria”.
Zhang Jun of China warned that “as vulnerable countries like Syria are struggling with the [coronavirus] pandemic, imposing more sanctions is simply inhumane”.
