Brussels: The European Union (EU) on Friday announced that it would blacklist Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, targeting President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
The move brings the number of Syrian leader officials and allies under EU assets to 289, and 70 institutions have also faced condolence measures. Brussels imposed sanctions on Syrian authorities in 2011 over the brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.
The war that has ravaged the country has now killed more than 387,000 people and left millions homeless. After the death of the veteran diplomat in November, Mekdad replaced Assad’s esteemed Walid Molim. Makdad began his career with the Syrian Foreign Ministry in 1994, and has served as Deputy Foreign Minister since 2006.
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