Syria: U.S. Sets New Sanctions

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/04/world/middleeast/syria-us-sets-new-sanctions.html

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The United States sought to broaden its economic pressure on Syria’s government on Monday, imposing sanctions on a far-flung network of seven overseas companies and four individuals for actions to evade American and European Union restrictions on fuel imports. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which oversees enforcement of American sanctions, said seven commercial ships owned or controlled by one of the newly penalized companies had been blocked by its action, cutting off a potential source of fuel to President Bashar al-Assad’s military. The affected companies operated in Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Lebanon, Panama, St. Kitts and Nevis and the Marshall Islands, the Treasury said in a statement, asserting that “many of these entities are front companies that the government of Syria and its supporters have used in an attempt to evade U.S. and E.U. sanctions.” Any sanctioned individuals and entities risk seizure of assets under American jurisdiction, and are barred from commercial dealings with the United States.