U.S. widens sanctions to four Syrian officials, TV station, airline

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Thursday blacklisted four Syrian government ministers, an airline and a television station it said helped the Assad government in its two-year crackdown on opposition forces.

The move follows broad U.S. sanctions on any aid to Syria since the beginning of the civil war between President Bashar al-Assad's government and opposition groups that has killed an estimated 80,000 people.

The U.S. Treasury Department said the government-owned airline, Syrian Arab Airlines, helped Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards ship illegal cargo - including rockets, anti-aircraft guns and ammunition - to aid the Syrian government.

The United States also accused the privately held Al-Dunya Television of assisting Assad's propaganda by airing forced confessions. Al-Dunya also helped the government disseminate fake weapons busts and arrest people it had interviewed, according to Treasury.

Treasury also blacklisted, or designated, four Syrian officials: the ministers of defense, health, industry, and justice, as part of its broader steps to stymie the government's activities. The defense minister, Fahed Jaseem al-Freij, has been in charge of Syria's armed forces during air strikes and executions of civilians, according to the U.S. government.

"Treasury will continue to use all of the tools at our disposal to expose and disrupt the financial networks of those responsible for the Syrian government's egregious campaign to suppress its people," Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said in a statement.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday said he may use a range of diplomatic and military options against Assad's government if he gets conclusive proof it used chemical weapons in the country's civil war.

The new sanctions forbid U.S. citizens from any financial dealing with the officials and companies, and also freeze their assets within the United States. Although the officials are unlikely to hold money in U.S. banks, many foreign banks are also reluctant to deal with companies and people that have been blacklisted by the United States.

In 2011, the United States froze all Syrian assets in the United States and barred U.S. citizens from making new investments or exporting services to Syria. It has also imposed sanctions on Syria's government, central bank, oil companies and more than 100 other individuals.

(Reporting by Anna Yukhananov; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-widens-sanctions-four-syrian-officials-tv-station-200513409.html

daniel day lewis Life of Pi Christoph Waltz Quvenzhané Wallis dancing with the stars cast kristen stewart Shirley Bassey