The European Union approved a new set of sanctions against Syria on Monday, including a tougher arms embargo, in response to the escalating violence in the country, Western and Arab media reported.
Foreign ministers of the 27 EU member states agreed during a meeting in Brussels to authorize searches of airplanes and ships in EU territorial waters and airspace if they are suspected of carrying arms and other equipment to Syria which could be used by Damascus to crack down on the opposition, reports said. The measure reinforces an EU ban on arms deliveries to Syria imposed in May last year.
Under the agreement, any banned items must be seized, according to an unidentified European official quoted by the New York Times.
The EU ministers also decided to extend the existing EU blacklist of 129 people and 49 companies with links to the Syrian government. According to conflicting media reports, the ministers agreed to ban another 26 or 29 Syrian officials from traveling to the EU and freeze their European assets; three more Syrian companies have been blacklisted.
The new measures constituted the 17th round of EU sanctions imposed on Syria since the beginning of an uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011.
"I am deeply concerned at the escalating violence and its tragic consequences for the Syrian population,” EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was quoted as saying in a statement.
“The EU has warned against a further militarization of the conflict. Today we take practical steps toward limiting the supplies that fuel the fighting,” she said.
The new sanctions came as Syrian government troops have continued their large-scale offensive to force rebels out of Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo. Dozens of people were reported killed and thousands have fled their homes in Syria over the past few days.
Up to 17,000 people have been killed in clashes between Assad troops and opposition fighters since the beginning of the Syrian conflict 17 months ago, according to UN estimates based on accounts provided by Syrian activists.
The UN Refugee Agency said last week that the number of Syrian refugees it has registered or assisted in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey has almost tripled since April to 112,000. The actual number of Syrian refugees is thought to be significantly higher.
