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| Syria: Sanctions imposed on Asma al-Assad as fighting continues - live | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 10.35am: At the same meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels where they imposed sanctions on Asma al-Assad and other Syrians, they extended restrictive measures on Iran. They added 17 people to an asset freeze and visa ban to bring the total to 78. At the same time, it extended the sanctions on all for another year. | |
| EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said the measures were taken because of the "continuing increase in executions and the widespread repression of Iranian citizens, including human rights defenders, journalists and members of the opposition". | |
| 10.17am: Kofi Annan (pictured left), joint special envoy of the United Nations and Arab League, is to travel to Moscow and Beijing this weekend for talks on the crisis in Syria, his spokesman said (via Reuters). | |
| A team sent by Annan has returned from three days of talks in Damascus on implementing his peace plan aimed at stopping the killing, securing humanitarian aid and launching a political dialogue with the Syrian opposition, spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said in a statement. | |
| "Mr Annan and his team are currently studying the Syrian responses carefully, and negotiations with Damascus continue," Fawzi said. | |
| Asked whether Annan would be returning to Damascus for talks with President Bashar al-Assad, Fawzi told a news briefing in Geneva: "He will at some point decide to go back, but this is not the time yet." | |
| 10.03am: More from Reuters on the sanctions imposed on Asma al-Assad: | |
| Foreign ministers meeting in Brussels also imposed asset freezes and bans on travel to the EU on several other Syrians and banned European companies from doing business with two Syrian entities, EU officials said. | |
| A full list of sanctions targets will be made public on Saturday when the decision comes into force. EU diplomats said the list included the Syrian president's wife Asma and family. | |
| "She is on the list. It's the whole clan," one EU diplomat said. | |
| 10.00am: Breaking news on Reuters: European Union states have decided to impose sanctions on the wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's and other members of his family. | |
| 9.52am: More news is coming in of clashes near the Turkish border. The Free Syrian Army has killed two loyalist soldiers and captured 18 others, including two officers, in an attack on a Syrian army unit near the border, according to al-Arabiya. Opposition fighters also also seized large quantities of ammunition from the army unit attacked near the village of Bedama, the report says. | 9.52am: More news is coming in of clashes near the Turkish border. The Free Syrian Army has killed two loyalist soldiers and captured 18 others, including two officers, in an attack on a Syrian army unit near the border, according to al-Arabiya. Opposition fighters also also seized large quantities of ammunition from the army unit attacked near the village of Bedama, the report says. |
| The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least three soldiers and a rebel were killed in clashes in Azaz, near the Turkish border. | The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least three soldiers and a rebel were killed in clashes in Azaz, near the Turkish border. |
| It also reported bombing in Homs, saying "24 rounds of mortar fire have fallen since the morning on the districts of Bab Dreib, Safsafa et Warsheh". | It also reported bombing in Homs, saying "24 rounds of mortar fire have fallen since the morning on the districts of Bab Dreib, Safsafa et Warsheh". |
| @Samsomhoms, an anti-Assad activist based in the city, tweeted: | @Samsomhoms, an anti-Assad activist based in the city, tweeted: |
| 11:40 here in #Homs intensive shelling on old city still taking place by #Assad forces till this moment #Syria | 11:40 here in #Homs intensive shelling on old city still taking place by #Assad forces till this moment #Syria |
| — Samsom homs (@Samsomhoms) March 23, 2012 | — Samsom homs (@Samsomhoms) March 23, 2012 |
| I just saw some of #Assad tanks moving in one of main streets inside the city of #Homs i think they were heading to the old city #Syria | I just saw some of #Assad tanks moving in one of main streets inside the city of #Homs i think they were heading to the old city #Syria |
| — Samsom homs (@Samsomhoms) March 23, 2012 | — Samsom homs (@Samsomhoms) March 23, 2012 |
| 9.15am: A European Union official has told AP Asma al-Assad will be hit with a travel ban and have her assets in the EU frozen. | 9.15am: A European Union official has told AP Asma al-Assad will be hit with a travel ban and have her assets in the EU frozen. |
| But the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that as she has British citizenship that likely meant that she could not be banned from travel to the UK. | But the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that as she has British citizenship that likely meant that she could not be banned from travel to the UK. |
| The official said total of four members of the Assad family - the others appear likely to be the Syrian president's mother, sister and sister-in-law - along with eight government ministers will be targeted in the latest round of sanctions. | The official said total of four members of the Assad family - the others appear likely to be the Syrian president's mother, sister and sister-in-law - along with eight government ministers will be targeted in the latest round of sanctions. |
| 9.00am: Good morning. Welcome to Middle East Live. Here is a round-up of the latest developments | 9.00am: Good morning. Welcome to Middle East Live. Here is a round-up of the latest developments |
| Syria | Syria |
| • European Union foreign ministers are set to impose sanctions on Bashar al-Assad's British-born wife, Asma al-Assad, today. The move comes after a cache of what appear to be private emails from the Syrian president, his wife and other members of their inner circle, obtained by the Guardian showed her busy buying luxury goods from London and Paris, including jewellery, a £2,650 vase and £10,000 worth of candlesticks, tables and chandeliers during the regime's brutal crackdown on internal dissent. The EU's sanctions are also likely to be extended to other individuals, including the Syrian's president's, mother, sister and sister-in-law and institutions. European companies could also be banned from doing business with two more Syrian entities, diplomats say. | • European Union foreign ministers are set to impose sanctions on Bashar al-Assad's British-born wife, Asma al-Assad, today. The move comes after a cache of what appear to be private emails from the Syrian president, his wife and other members of their inner circle, obtained by the Guardian showed her busy buying luxury goods from London and Paris, including jewellery, a £2,650 vase and £10,000 worth of candlesticks, tables and chandeliers during the regime's brutal crackdown on internal dissent. The EU's sanctions are also likely to be extended to other individuals, including the Syrian's president's, mother, sister and sister-in-law and institutions. European companies could also be banned from doing business with two more Syrian entities, diplomats say. |
| • Government forces and army defectors are engaging in fierce clashes in a town near the Turkish border, an activist group says. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Reuters the fighting in the town of Azaz in the northern province of Aleppo have left at least three soldiers dead. It said military helicopters were seen flying over the town, 8km (five miles) from the Turkish border. | • Government forces and army defectors are engaging in fierce clashes in a town near the Turkish border, an activist group says. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Reuters the fighting in the town of Azaz in the northern province of Aleppo have left at least three soldiers dead. It said military helicopters were seen flying over the town, 8km (five miles) from the Turkish border. |
| • There were also clashes between the two sides near the capital Damascus, activists told Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Rebels attacked at dawn an army checkpoint in al-Qaboon, in the suburbs of Damascus, sparking a clash between the two sides and heavy shelling on the nearby area of Arbeen, Haytham al-Abdullah said. | • There were also clashes between the two sides near the capital Damascus, activists told Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Rebels attacked at dawn an army checkpoint in al-Qaboon, in the suburbs of Damascus, sparking a clash between the two sides and heavy shelling on the nearby area of Arbeen, Haytham al-Abdullah said. |
| • Syrian rebels battling government forces are running out of ammunition, the Washington Post reports. It says black market supplies are drying up as neighboring countries tighten their borders and international promises of help have failed to materialise. Some rebels are also going hungry as s they withdraw deeper into remote mountainous terrain, away from the population centers where they rely on the sympathies of residents for food and support, the report says. | • Syrian rebels battling government forces are running out of ammunition, the Washington Post reports. It says black market supplies are drying up as neighboring countries tighten their borders and international promises of help have failed to materialise. Some rebels are also going hungry as s they withdraw deeper into remote mountainous terrain, away from the population centers where they rely on the sympathies of residents for food and support, the report says. |
| • Opposition activists have dismissed a UN security council statement calling for a ceasefire to allow dialogue on a political solution. They cited fresh violence that is reported to have killed dozens on Thursday. The government of Bashar al-Assad also played down the UN statement, saying Damascus is under no threats or ultimatums. | • Opposition activists have dismissed a UN security council statement calling for a ceasefire to allow dialogue on a political solution. They cited fresh violence that is reported to have killed dozens on Thursday. The government of Bashar al-Assad also played down the UN statement, saying Damascus is under no threats or ultimatums. |
| Iran | Iran |
| • The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the nuclear watchdog at the heart of the growing Iranian crisis, has been accused by several former senior officials of pro-western bias, over-reliance on unverified intelligence and of sidelining sceptics. Robert Kelley, a former US weapons scientists who ran the IAEA action team on Iraq at the time of the US-led invasion, said there were worrying parallels between the west's mistakes over Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction then and the IAEA's assessment of Iran now. | • The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the nuclear watchdog at the heart of the growing Iranian crisis, has been accused by several former senior officials of pro-western bias, over-reliance on unverified intelligence and of sidelining sceptics. Robert Kelley, a former US weapons scientists who ran the IAEA action team on Iraq at the time of the US-led invasion, said there were worrying parallels between the west's mistakes over Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction then and the IAEA's assessment of Iran now. |
| Egypt | Egypt |
| • The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is to allow US military aid to Egypt to continue despite Cairo's failure to meet pro-democracy conditions. The office of Senator Patrick Leahy, who chairs the Senate subcommittee on foreign aid, revealed Clinton's decision and made clear his deep unhappiness with it, arguing that Clinton should now limit the amount of military aid that is released. | • The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is to allow US military aid to Egypt to continue despite Cairo's failure to meet pro-democracy conditions. The office of Senator Patrick Leahy, who chairs the Senate subcommittee on foreign aid, revealed Clinton's decision and made clear his deep unhappiness with it, arguing that Clinton should now limit the amount of military aid that is released. |
| Bahrain | Bahrain |
| • Bahrain is installing video cameras in police stations to try to clean up its human rights image allegations of abuse against opposition activists continue. But the cameras, introduced after an inquiry led by international jurists uncovered five deaths under torture last year, will not be installed in at least five riot police bases where activists say youths have been beaten. | • Bahrain is installing video cameras in police stations to try to clean up its human rights image allegations of abuse against opposition activists continue. But the cameras, introduced after an inquiry led by international jurists uncovered five deaths under torture last year, will not be installed in at least five riot police bases where activists say youths have been beaten. |