EU imposes sanctions on Syria’s president

THE European Union imposed sanctions yesterday on Syrian President Bashar Assad because of his government’s continuing crackdown on anti-government protesters in which more than 900 people have reportedly been killed.

The 27-nation bloc instituted an assets freeze and a visa ban on Assad and nine members of his regime.

Earlier this month the EU sanctioned 13 people with links to the Syrian regime, but Assad was not among them. A European official said at the time that the omission was part of a deliberately gradual approach.