US hits Syria’s elite with new sanctions to pressure Bashar al-Assad to end civil war
- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says it’s the first move in ‘what will be a sustained campaign of economic and political pressure’
- The new penalties are part of the Caesar Act, which targets anyone trying to do business in Syria that would bring benefits to the government
The new sanctions, part of the Caesar Act, hit President Bashar al-Assad and his wife, Asma, as well as Maher al-Assad, a key military figure, and come atop a slew of existing designations that target Syria and its top political and military leaderships.
“We anticipate many more sanctions,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
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Entering its 10th year, Syrian civil war remains the 21st century’s deadliest conflict so far
This is the “beginning of what will be a sustained campaign of economic and political pressure to deny the Assad regime revenue and support it uses to wage war and commit mass atrocities against the Syrian people”, he said.
Syria’s central bank raised the exchange rate of the dollar against the local pound, to 1,256 pounds, from a previous rate of 704 pounds per US dollar, a statement on the bank’s Telegram app channel said.
The act, in part, aims to hit out at anyone trying to do business in Syria who in any way earns benefits for the government, effectively cutting off avenues for reconstruction.
