US sanctions 18 Syrian officials for chemical weapons attacks
WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the first time, the United States issued financial sanctions against 18 senior Syrian regime officials, specifically citing independent investigations which revealed chlorine gas attacks in 2014 and 2015.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons,” Ned Price, spokesperson for the US National Security Council, wrote in a statement on Thursday. The National Security Council is the US president’s principle forum for foreign policy and security matters.
“The Assad regime’s barbaric continued attacks demonstrate its willingness to defy basic standards of human decency, its international obligations, and longstanding global norms,” the statement added.
According to the Price’s report, Syria agreed to join the Chemical Weapons Convention after its sarin chemical attack on civilians in the Ghouta area of Damascus on August 21, 2013, which killed more than a thousand people. The United States worked closely with partners after that attack to remove and destroy the Syrian government’s declared chemical weapons program.
However, a joint investigation by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations found that the Syrian government, specifically the Syrian air force, was responsible for three chlorine gas attacks in Tell Mannas on April 21, 2014, and in Qmenas and Sarmin on March 16, 2015. All three cities are in northwest Syria, south of Aleppo.
The US Department of Treasury outlined the result of the sanctions for the Syria’s violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and UN Security Council Resolution 2118.
“As a result of today’s action, any property or interest in property of the identified persons in the possession or control of U.S. persons or within the United States must be blocked,” the department’s website stated. “Additionally, transactions by U.S. persons involving these persons are generally prohibited.”
A list of the 18 Syrians who were sanctioned can be found on the treasury department’s website. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was not one of the 18 regime officials to be sanctioned.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons,” Ned Price, spokesperson for the US National Security Council, wrote in a statement on Thursday. The National Security Council is the US president’s principle forum for foreign policy and security matters.
“The Assad regime’s barbaric continued attacks demonstrate its willingness to defy basic standards of human decency, its international obligations, and longstanding global norms,” the statement added.
According to the Price’s report, Syria agreed to join the Chemical Weapons Convention after its sarin chemical attack on civilians in the Ghouta area of Damascus on August 21, 2013, which killed more than a thousand people. The United States worked closely with partners after that attack to remove and destroy the Syrian government’s declared chemical weapons program.
However, a joint investigation by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations found that the Syrian government, specifically the Syrian air force, was responsible for three chlorine gas attacks in Tell Mannas on April 21, 2014, and in Qmenas and Sarmin on March 16, 2015. All three cities are in northwest Syria, south of Aleppo.
The US Department of Treasury outlined the result of the sanctions for the Syria’s violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and UN Security Council Resolution 2118.
“As a result of today’s action, any property or interest in property of the identified persons in the possession or control of U.S. persons or within the United States must be blocked,” the department’s website stated. “Additionally, transactions by U.S. persons involving these persons are generally prohibited.”
A list of the 18 Syrians who were sanctioned can be found on the treasury department’s website. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was not one of the 18 regime officials to be sanctioned.