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US unveils Syria sanctions targeting regime prisons, rebel group

The wave of sanctions targets eight military prisons, including the notorious Saydnaya prison outside the capital Damascus that rights groups have described as a “human slaughterhouse.”
A Syrian man walks walks in between election campaign posters bearing portraits of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a candidate for the upcoming presidential election, in the capital Damascus on May 18, 2021.

The Biden administration on Wednesday issued its first round of Syria-related sanctions since taking office, designating a number of regime detention centers and prison officials, as well as a Turkish-backed Syrian rebel group.  

“The individuals and entities we are designating today are party to gross violations of human rights, including supervising the torture and killing of detainees," Andrea Gacki, the Treasury Department’s Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, told reporters.

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