On the heels of action taken by the Arab League, Turkey and European Union, the Treasury Department on Thursday announced new sanctions against Syria and urged more pressure against Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Treasury named Muhammad Makhluf, an uncle of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, and Aus Aslan, top general in the Syrian military. Under the terms of the sanctions, Americans are banned from any dealings with them.
"It has never been more critical to escalate pressure on the Syrian government to immediately cease all violence against its own people and isolate the regime from the international financial system," David Cohen, Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. "We will continue to work closely with our partners in Europe and around the world to hasten a transition to democracy in Syria."
Treasury also listed the Military Housing Establishment as a Syrian government-controlled company that provides financing to the regime and Real Estate Bank, which handles borrowing for the government.
The Treasury Department sanctions come one day after Turkey announced a freeze on Syrian assets in Turkey and a ban on transactions with the Syrian central bank. The EU and Arab League also levied a series of sanctions against Damascus earlier this week.
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