Latest news with #Alawite
The Sun
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
EU sanctions Syrian militia groups over deadly March violence
BRUSSELS: The European Union sanctioned on Wednesday three Syrian militia groups and two of their leaders for serious human-rights abuses over their alleged involvement in deadly ethnic violence in March. More than 1,700 people were killed in attacks mostly targeting the Alawite community, which is associated with the clan of ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad, in Syria's coastal region in March. Brussels added the three pro-Turkish militia groups -- the Sultan Sulaiman Shah Brigade, the Hamza Division and the Sultan Murad Division -- to its sanctions list for their role in the killings. The groups targeted 'civilians and especially the Alawite community, including by committing arbitrary killings', the EU's official journal read. Sultan Sulaiman Shah Brigade's founder Muhammad Hussein al-Jasim and Hamza Division chief Sayf Boulad Abu Bakr were also added to the sanctions list. The latter was held responsible for 'serious human rights abuses in Syria, including torture and arbitrary killings of civilians'. The move comes a week after EU countries gave a green light to lifting all economic sanctions on Syria in a bid to help the war-torn country recover after the ouster of Assad. The decision was officially adopted Wednesday. US President Donald Trump has also announced the lifting of sanctions on Syria, ending more than a decade of diplomatic freeze. Syria's new rulers have been clamouring for relief from the crushing international punishment imposed after Assad's crackdown on opponents spiralled into civil war. But EU diplomats had warned the 27-nation bloc intended to impose new individual sanctions on those responsible for stirring ethnic tensions. Syria's 14-year civil war killed more than half a million people and ravaged the country.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
EU Sanctions Syrian Militias Over Ethnic Violence
BRUSSELS: The European Union sanctioned on Wednesday three Syrian militia groups and two of their leaders for serious human-rights abuses over their alleged involvement in deadly ethnic violence in March. More than 1,700 people were killed in attacks mostly targeting the Alawite community, which is associated with the clan of ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad, in Syria's coastal region in March. Brussels added the three pro-Turkish militia groups -- the Sultan Sulaiman Shah Brigade, the Hamza Division and the Sultan Murad Division -- to its sanctions list for their role in the killings. The groups targeted 'civilians and especially the Alawite community, including by committing arbitrary killings', the EU's official journal read. Sultan Sulaiman Shah Brigade's founder Muhammad Hussein al-Jasim and Hamza Division chief Sayf Boulad Abu Bakr were also added to the sanctions list. The latter was held responsible for 'serious human rights abuses in Syria, including torture and arbitrary killings of civilians'. The move comes a week after EU countries gave a green light to lifting all economic sanctions on Syria in a bid to help the war-torn country recover after the ouster of Assad. The decision was officially adopted Wednesday. US President Donald Trump has also announced the lifting of sanctions on Syria, ending more than a decade of diplomatic freeze. Syria's new rulers have been clamouring for relief from the crushing international punishment imposed after Assad's crackdown on opponents spiralled into civil war. But EU diplomats had warned the 27-nation bloc intended to impose new individual sanctions on those responsible for stirring ethnic tensions. Syria's 14-year civil war killed more than half a million people and ravaged the country.
Shafaq News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
EU sanctions Syrian factions over Coast massacres
Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, the European Union imposed sanctions on three Syrian factions and two of their commanders, citing their involvement in deadly sectarian violence that swept parts of Syria in March. According to the EU's Official Journal, the sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans, targeting what the bloc described as 'arbitrary crimes' and acts of torture committed during attacks in several coastal cities and towns. The sanctioned groups—Sultan Murad, Suleiman Shah, and Hamza Division—were accused of orchestrating and carrying out atrocities. Commanders Mohammad Hussein al-Jassem (Suleiman Shah) and Saif Boullad Abu Bakr (Hamza) were named for 'serious human rights violations.' Earlier, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that over 1,700 people, mostly from the Alawite community, were killed during violence on March 7–8. In a parallel move, the EU also lifted its broader economic sanctions on Syria following a political agreement reached by foreign ministers last week. However, the EU Council said it would maintain restrictions on Assad-linked entities and measures tied to national security while keeping the door open for further targeted actions.
LBCI
2 days ago
- General
- LBCI
EU sanctions Syrian militia groups over deadly March violence
The EU sanctioned Wednesday three militia groups and two of their leaders for serious human rights abuses over their alleged involvement in deadly ethnic violence in March, an official document showed. The Sultan Sulaiman Shah Brigade, the Hamza Division, and the Sultan Murad Division, as well as the heads of the first two groups, were added to Brussels' sanction list for their "part in the violence in the coastal region of Syria, targeting civilians and especially the Alawite community," the EU's official journal read. AFP
2 days ago
- Politics
EU lifts most Syria sanctions but slaps new ones on alleged culprits in attacks on Alawite civilians
PARIS -- The European Union lifted a wide range of sanctions on Syria on Wednesday, but slapped new ones on people and groups it says participated on attacks on civilians during a wave of violence in the Syrian coastal region in March. The move lifted most sanctions that had been imposed on the country, including on its financial system, while keeping them in place on individuals and organizations in Syria it says violated human rights or for 'security grounds,' like the extended family of former President Bashar Assad or its chemical weapons program, according to the text of the European Council on the decision. The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had announced plans to lift the sanctions last week. She said the move was 'conditional' and that sanctions could be resumed if the new government of Ahmad al-Sharaa - a former rebel commander who led the charge that unseated former President Bashar Assad in December - doesn't keep the peace. Kallas said in a statement Wednesday that removing sanctions 'is simply the right thing to do, at this historic time, for the EU to genuinely support Syria's recovery and a political transition that fulfils the aspirations of all Syrians.' Wednesday's decision slapped 'restrictive measures' on two people and three armed groups that were accused of 'targeting civilians and especially the Alawite community' - referring to the religious minority to which Assad belongs - during violence in March on the coast and of torture and 'arbitrary killings of civilians.' Clashes erupted at the time after a group of Assad loyalists attacked security forces near the coastal city of Latakia. Rights groups reported widespread revenge killings as militants from Syria's Sunni majority - some of them officially affiliated with the new government's security forces - targeted Alawites, regardless of whether they were involved in the insurgency. Hundreds of civilians were killed. The new government in Damascus has promised to hold perpetrators accountable, but a body formed to investigate the violence has yet to release its findings. While there have not been large-scale attacks on Alawites since March, members of the community remain fearful and say that individual incidents of kidnappings and killing continue to take place. The two people targeted by the new sanctions are Mohammad Hussein al-Jasim, leader of the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade, and Sayf Boulad Abu Bakr, leader of the Hamza Division, both armed groups that the EU said had taken part in the attacks. The militias were also slapped with new sanctions, as was another armed group, the Sultan Murad Division. The lifting of the broader sanctions on Syria comes days after the United States granted Syria sweeping exemptions from sanctions in a first step toward fulfilling President Donald Trump's pledge to lift a half-century of penalties on a country shattered by 13 years of civil war. A measure by the U.S. State Department waived for six months a tough set of sanctions imposed by Congress in 2019. The easing of sanctions removes one of the major barriers to reconstruction of the country, which the United Nations in 2017 estimated would cost at least $250 billion. Some experts now say that number could reach at least $400 billion. The United Nations estimates that 90% of Syrians live in poverty and state-supplied electricity comes as little as two hours every day. ———— Sewell reported from Beirut.
