US froze the assets of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad .......

United States froze the assets of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and six other officials.

 The step was taken to pressurise the government to end its crackdown on protesters. Property in US or interests in property belonging to al-Assad and the officials will be frozen, according to US Treasury Department. The other officials include Syrian Vice President Faruq al-Shara, Prime Minister Adel Safar, Interior Minister Mohamad Ibrahim al-Shaar and Defense Minister Ali Habib Mahmoud.

 The European Union will impose more sanctions on Syria next week, an Obama administration official said.

 “The United States continues to strongly condemn the Syrian government’s use of violence and intimidation against its people and urges the president to answer the calls of the Syrian people for a more representative government and embark upon the path of meaningful democratic reform,” said an official.