The European Council has decided to extend European Union sanctions against the regime of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad until at least June 1, 2019, the institution’s press service reported on May 28.
The decision to do so was made in line with the general E.U. policy regarding Syria due to “the ongoing repression of the civilian population by the regime and its supporters,” the statement reads.
The updated sanctions list, from which two deceased persons were removed, currently includes 259 persons and 67 entities targeted by a travel ban and an asset freeze, particularly in retaliation for their roles in the use of chemical weapons against the civilians.
“More broadly, sanctions currently in place against Syria include an oil embargo, restrictions on certain investments, a freeze of the assets of the Syrian central bank held in the EU, export restrictions on equipment and technology that might be used for internal repression as well as on equipment and technology for the monitoring or interception of internet or telephone communications,” the Council said.
The E.U. pressure on the Syrian regime has greatly intensified following fresh incidents of the use of chemical warfare in 2018, with the latest one, in which at least 85 civilians died, taking place on April 7 in Douma.
During the previous revision on March 18, the E.U. officials added four persons to the sanctions list, particularly a high-ranking military official and thre scientists working at the Scientific Studies and Research Centre, the government entity responsible for developing and producing non-conventional weapons, including chemical weapons, and the missiles to deliver them.
In general, according to United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, Assad’s regime has used chemical weapons at least 50 times during the seven-year-old war that has already claimed at least 500,000 lives since 2011.
