Will continue to hold Bashar al-Assad (above), his regime responsible for their atrocities: Mike Pompeo
Washington:
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on the son of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, expanding efforts to freeze funds intended for the regime in the war-torn country.
Hafez al-Assad, 18, named after his grandfather, will not be allowed to travel or retain assets in the United States, the State Department has said.
The designation was part of a second round of sanctions under the Caesar Act, a US law that came into effect in June that aims to never normalize the Assad regime even as it succeeds in reclaiming most of Syria. after a brutal nine-year war.
“We will continue to hold Bashar al-Assad and his regime accountable for their atrocities, while keeping the memory of their victims alive,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
“It is time for Assad’s pointless and brutal war to end,” he said.
Syrian businessman Wassim Anwar al-Qattan, involved in major construction projects in Damascus, is also affected by the new sanctions.
The United States, however, has yet to target the trade interests of Assad’s key ally, Russia. Fears of action against foreign investors under Caesar’s law have ravaged the war-ravaged Syrian economy, clouding hopes for reconstruction.
The United States has already imposed sanctions on Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma.
A senior US official said the sanctions against their only adult child were aimed at preventing Hafez from becoming an intermediary for his family abroad.
“It is also because we have seen an increase in his importance within the family,” the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
“Adult children basically continue to do business on behalf and for the account of their sanctioned parents or other adult parents,” he said.
The young Hafez al-Assad mainly made the headlines for his passion for mathematics, participating in international competitions in Brazil and Romania.
In 2017, he finished in 528th position out of 615 in a competition in Rio de Janeiro.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
