EU slaps 13 Syrian officials, spares Assad

The European Union on Friday agreed punitive sanctions against 13 Syrian officials involved in the regime's savage crackdown on protests, but momentarily held off sanctioning President Bashar al-Assad. Diplomats told AFP that ambassadors from the 27-nation bloc would take a new look on Monday at whether to add Assad's name on a list of Syrians to be hit by an assets freeze and travel ban.
At Friday's talks, ambassadors agreed to "work without delay on additional restrictive measures against people responsible for violent repression against civilians, and in particular to look fully at including the highest level of the Syrian leadership on the list."
Sanctions against the 13 other regime officials listed by the ambassadors need to be endorsed by governments and are expected to come into force by Tuesday through publication in the EU Official Journal, the diplomats said. European nations were split over taking punitive measures against officials blamed for the brutal repression of recent weeks, and particularly over whether to target Assad.
Britain, France and Germany argued in favour of a swift and clear message while smaller states - notably Cyprus, Portugal and Greece - were reticent over targeting Assad. Estonia for its part is concerned for seven of its nationals kidnapped in Syria's neighbour Lebanon. Among EU sanctions already agreed in principle are an embargo on the sale of weapons and equipment that might be used for internal repression as well as a review of the bloc's cooperation with Syria.
France in particular had urged Assad's name remain on a 14-member list of Syrians targeted by restrictive measures, but several smaller EU nations were reticent, said diplomats who requested anonymity. "The French strongly favour inclusion, Britain and Germany support that but not at the expense of holding up the rest" of the sanctions, said a diplomat.
The talks were held as activists said Syria's security forces shot dead at least five people when thousands rallied on a "Day of Defiance" against Assad's regime. Human rights groups say more than 600 people have been killed and 8,000 have been jailed or gone missing since the protests began in mid-March.