EU sanctions family members of Syria’s Assad

The EU on Monday updated its Syria sanctions list with 25 new individuals and eight entities, including the head of the Syrian regime Bashar al-Assad's family members and those responsible for drug trafficking.

EU foreign ministers approved adding 25 individuals and eight entities to the "framework of EU restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria," the Council of the European Union said in a statement.

Most of the new entries are responsible for producing and trafficking the amphetamine-based drug Captagon.

According to the decision, the narcotics trade has created a "regime-led business model, enriching the inner circle of the regime and providing it with revenue that contributes to its ability to maintain its policies of repression against the civilian population."

With the update, the bloc has applied sanctions of asset freeze and travel ban to 322 people and prohibits financial services to a further 82 entities.

Since 2011, the Syrian conflict claimed over 400,000 lives, while 6.6 million Syrians left the country and another 6.8 million people live as internally displaced in the country.