Arab states cut commercial ties with Syria
The Arab League approved economic sanctions on Syria on Sunday to try to force Damascus to halt an eight-month crackdown on protests against President Bashar al-Assad that Qatar said may prompt international intervention.
Anti-Assad activists said there was no respite from the crackdown and security forces had killed at least 24 civilians, many in a town north of Damascus that has become a focus for protests demanding Assad’s removal. Others were killed in raids on towns in the province of Homs.
Nineteen of the League’s 22 members approved the decision to immediately enforce the sanctions, hailed by Britain as unprecedented. They include a travel ban on top Syrian officials and a freeze on assets related to Assad’s government.
“The indications are not positive … the sanctions are still economic but if there is no movement on the part of Syria then we have a responsibility as human beings to stop the killings,” Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, told reporters.
“Power is not worth anything when a ruler kills his people,” he said, adding that the sanctions were also aimed at halting dealings with Syria’s central bank and investment in Syria.