The EU is to freeze the financial assets of up to 10 senior figures in President Bashar al-Assad's regime as part of a rapid escalation to tighten the "diplomatic and economic stranglehold" aimed at bringing an end to the bloodshed in Syria. Foreign ministers will tomorrow agree a fresh array of sanctions, including travel bans on high-profile members of Mr Assad's team, restraints on Syria's Central Bank, as well as restrictions on cargo flights and sales of gold and diamonds.
Ahead of the latest round of diplomacy, Syrian forces continued
to attack their opponents. Up to 22 people were reported killed
yesterday during clashes across the country. The killings came as
officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
abandoned attempts to rescue people trapped by shelling in the Baba
Amr district of Homs. Those awaiting evacuation include the British
photographer Paul Conroy and French journalist Edith Bouvier who
were wounded last week. The bodies of the journalists Marie Colvin
and Remi Ochlik, killed at the same time, also remain there.
A spokesman said last night that negotiations "yielded no
concrete results" and talks would resume today. ICRC's Hicham
Hassan said the Syrian Red Crescent was able to carry out
evacuations elsewhere in Syria, including in other parts of
Homs.
The escalation of sanctions follows the Friends of Syria meeting
last Friday in Tunis which said countries would be "intensifying
the pressure on the regime to end the violence immediately". A
British diplomat said yesterday: "Working closely with our EU
partners, we have secured a further substantial package of
sanctions which will come into force the day after the Foreign
Affairs Council meeting. The package includes freezing the assets
of the Central Bank of Syria, the listing of additional senior
individuals, as well as other sanctions that will be announced on
Monday."
The Treasury has already moved to freeze the assets of 108
individuals linked to the regime, and 38 organisations, including
oil firms, banks and manufacturers.
Tomorrow's meeting, in Brussels, will be chaired by Baroness
Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, who has
urged ministers to "expand our restrictive measures".
William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, has called for "a
diplomatic and economic stranglehold on the Assad regime" to "choke
off support for its campaign of terror". He urged non-EU countries
similarly to step up actions. However, he has specifically ruled
out arming the Syrian rebels. "We have in the EU an arms embargo on
Syria, so of course we will observe that in all directions."
The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) also meets tomorrow to
escalate plans for Baroness Amos, Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs, to travel to Syria and potentially hold talks
with Mr Assad aimed at ending the bloodshed.
Laura Dupuy Lasserre, the HRC president, has also accepted a
request delivered by Qatar for an urgent debate on Syria to take
place on Tuesday, "in light of the escalating grave human rights
violations and the deteriorating humanitarian situation".
Last week, a report commissioned by the HRC claimed Syria had
"manifestly failed" to protect its own people and drew up a list
identifying "those responsible, with a view to ensuring that
perpetrators of violations... are held accountable".
If Baroness Amos is blocked from visiting Syria, she is expected
to travel to Jordan, Lebanon and other countries in the region, in
hope of stepping up pressure from Syria's neighbours.
Turkey's Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, yesterday accused
Syria of seeking to crush its opposition before reforming. "To
fight on the one hand with your people and then to claim that there
is reform is contradictory. That kind of logic unfortunately
renders any kind of reform meaningless," he said.
Syria will hold a referendum today on a new constitution. The
charter would allow a bigger role for those opposed to Mr Assad's
Baath Party, which has controlled Syria since a 1963 coup. But
leaders of the uprising dismiss the move as "superficial".
China's official Xinhua News Agency yesterday accused the US and
Europe of "harbouring hegemonistic ambitions" in Syria. Responding
to criticism of Beijing in Tunis, China insisted its position on
Syria was balanced and that "most of the Arab countries have begun
to realise that the US and Europe are hiding a dagger behind a
smile".
Both China and Russia boycotted the Tunis conference, which
urged President Assad to end the violence immediately and allow
humanitarian aid into areas hit by his crackdown.
The UN estimated in January that 5,400 people had died in the
conflict. Now, activists say the death toll has reached more than
7,300.
