EU hits Assad's ministers with new Syria sanctions

The European Union imposed sanctions on seven Syrian cabinet ministers for their role in a bloody crackdown on dissent, the latest move aimed at pressuring President Bashar al-Assad to step down

As Assad's forces continued to shell opposition strongholds the EU on Tuesday issued a list of top officials it said were providing material help for the violence. The list, published in the EU's Official Journal, imposes travel bans and asset freezes on figures including Health Minister Health Minister Wael al-Halki, for his role in denying protesters medical care.
Telecoms Minister Imad Sabouni was accused of curbing access to the media. Transport Minister Fayssal Abbas was listed for providing logistical support for repression. The EU said Education Minister Saleh al-Rashed was responsible for letting schools to be used as makeshift prisons.
Listed officials are banned from travelling to the EU and any assets they hold with European companies are frozen.
Playing down any possibility of Libya-style military intervention, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the EU's options were limited. "As long as we have not halted the massacres, we are impotent, but we are not inactive," he told Swiss radio.
Juppe has called for Assad and his colleagues to be referred to the International Criminal Court.
Oil Minister Sufian Alao and Industry Minister Adnan Salakho were included on the list for conducting policies that finance the government. Also on the list was presidential adviser Mansour Fadlallah Azzam.
The sanctions, adopted by EU foreign ministers on Monday, also froze the assets of the Syrian central bank and banned trading in gold, precious metals and diamonds with Syrian state institutions.