Report: U.S. to sanction Syria’s Assad for human rights abuses
Comment by U.S. sources comes after Syrian President admitted security forces had made mistakes in the handling of persistent popular unrest sweeping parts of the country.
By Reuters
The United States plans to impose personal sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad, sources close to the matter said on Wednesday, amid continued violent crackdowns on Syrian pro-democracy protests.
Assad had been partly rehabilitated in the West over the last three years but the United States and European Union condemned his use of force to quell unrest and warned they plan further steps after imposing sanctions on top Syrian officials.
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Syrian anti-regime protesters tearing down a poster of President Bashar al-Assad in Hama, north of Damascus, May 13, 2011. |
| Photo by: AFP/YouTube |
The Syrian leader told a delegation from the Damascus district of Midan that security forces had made mistakes handling the protests, Wednesday’s al Watan newspaper said.
One delegate said Assad told them 4,000 police would receive training “to prevent these excesses” being repeated, it said.
Human rights groups say Assad’s crackdown has killed at least 700 civilians. Authorities blame most of the violence on armed groups backed by Islamists and outside powers, saying they have also killed more than 120 soldiers and police.
WarSclerotic 
May 19, 2011 at 9:31 AM
[…] Report: U.S. to sanction Syria’s Assad for human rights abuses (via Sclerotic) Report: U.S. to sanction Syria's Assad for human rights abuses – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News. Comment by U.S. sources comes after Syrian President admitted security forces had made mistakes in the handling of persistent popular unrest sweeping parts of the country. By Reuters The United States plans to impose personal sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad, sources close to the matter said on Wednesday, amid continued violent crackd … Read More […]
May 19, 2011 at 2:40 PM
Like Assad really gives a crap. And what’s up with sanctions on individuals?? Next thing, the UN will be sending him a personal letter of condemnation. What insanity.