EU imposes arms embargo on Syria

Move comes as Assad continues violent crackdown against protesters; embargo goes into effect on Monday night.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Syrian soldiers leaving Deraa 311 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS)
Syrian soldiers leaving Deraa 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The European Union has decided to impose an arms embargo on Syria, which went into effect on Monday night.
The move came as Syrian President Bashar Assad continued a violent crackdown on anti-regime protesters in which human rights groups claim more than 800 have died over the past seven weeks.
RELATED:US mulls more sanctions against Syria in face of crackdown'Syrian forces arrest scores in Banias, Homs'
The EU arms embargo received a preliminary green light at the end of last month.
"In the European Union, there exists the will to adopt sanctions quite rapidly," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told reporters earlier this week, after a meeting of an international contact group ranged against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Earlier US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini also discussed sanctions against the Syrian leadership because of its violent suppression of unrest in the country.
"We are currently finalizing the list of persons whose assets will be sanctioned and France wants [Syrian President] Bashar Assad to be on it," Juppe said.