The White House imposed new sanctions on Syria Friday and called on other U.S. allies to follow suit.
President Obama announced the sanctions through a White House executive order in response to a violent crackdown on protesters airing grievances with the government of Bashar Al-Assad, whose family has ruled Syria for four decades.
Syrian citizens Friday crowded the streets in more than 30 cities and towns across the country for its latest “day of rage” protests, promptly a deadly blow from Al-Assad’s military, which killed nearly 30 people, according to a Syrian human rights group.
In response, the United Nation’s Human Rights Council condemned the Syrian government’s repression of peaceful protesters and ordered the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law.
“In addition to actions that we are taking, the United States believes that Syria’s deplorable actions toward its people warrant a strong international response…,” Obama said in a statement. “The Syrian people’s call for freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and the ability to freely choose their leaders must be heard.”
“We call on President Assad to change course now and heed the calls of his people,” Obama continued.
Obama’s executive order imposes sanctions against senior Syrian officials and other Syrian and Iranian government entities responsible for violence against civilians. The sanctions add to previous sanctions, including export sanctions and ineligibility to receive most forms of U.S. aid or to purchase U.S. military equipment, against the Syrian government first begun in the mid-1980s.
The President Friday renewed that national emergency declaration for another year. The Commerce Department also has revoked “certain commercial export licenses” relating to VIP aircraft used to transport senior officials of the Syrian government, according to a White House release.
