UN blacklists Syria rebel force

The UN Security Council has agreed to add Jabhat al-Nusra, the al Qaida-linked opposition force fighting in Syria, to its sanctions blacklist.

The US Mission to the United Nations said none of the 15 council members objected to adding al-Nusra as an alias of al Qaida in Iraq by the deadline yesterday.

The mission said the decision by the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against al Qaida will be officially published today, subjecting al-Nusra to a global arms embargo and asset freeze.

Al-Nusra has emerged as the most effective and organised opposition fighting force against President Bashar Assad’s government. It joined ranks with al Qaida in Iraq in early April.

On May 16, the US State Department designated al-Nusra leader Muhammad al-Jawlani as a “global terrorist,” subjecting him to US sanctions.