BRUSSELS (AP) — European foreign ministers have frozen the assets of several Syrian government officials and imposed sanctions on the country’s central bank.
They also banned the purchase of gold, precious metals and diamonds from the country, and banned Syrian cargo flights from the European Union on Monday.
The EU had previously imposed several rounds of sanctions on Syria, freezing the assets of 100 people and 38 organizations, and trying to cut the country’s supply of equipment for its oil and gas sectors.
So far the EU sanctions have had little effect on the crackdown by the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Activist groups estimate nearly 7,500 people have died in 11 months of unrest.
