EU freezes commercial bank of Syria assets

The European Union agreed Thursday to freeze the assets of the Commercial Bank of Syria in the latest round of sanctions designed to pressure the Syrian government into stopping crackdown on the opposition. The bloc said it would target ''one more entity that financially supports the regime,'' bringing the total to 19, saying the entity would be named in the EU''s official journal on Friday, when the sanctions are due to take effect. But an EU diplomat confirmed to German press agency (dpa) that the latest decision concerned the bank, which was already hit by an US asset freeze in August. The EU has implemented travel bans and asset freezes on 56 people, a ban on the import of Syrian oil and new European investments in the country''s petroleum sector, and embargoes on arms sales and the delivery of Syrian currency.