EU imposes travel ban on Assad’s wife - Gayo Lues

EU foreign ministers made the decision during a meeting in the Belgian capital Brussels on Friday.

The ministers agreed to the travel ban and the asset freeze on “Assad’s wife, mother, sister and sister-in-law,” as well as eight entourage members, AFP reported.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said, due to the ban, “we are not expecting Mrs. Assad to try to travel to the United Kingdom at the moment.”

Asma Assad’s parents currently live in Britain where she was born and brought up.

The United States has hailed the EU decision.

US State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said during a briefing in Washington, DC on Friday, “We are gratified that the EU has taken yet another step in tightening the noose on the Assad regime.”

The EU move against the family of the Syrian president comes at a time when Syria is experiencing unrest that began in mid-March 2011. The violence has claimed the lives of hundreds of people, including many security forces.

Damascus blames ‘outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups’ for the unrest, asserting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

Assad said on February 20 that ‘some foreign countries’ were fueling the turmoil by supporting and funding the ‘armed terrorist groups fighting against the government.’

The West and the Syrian opposition, however, accuse the government of killing protesters.

HSN/HN