(VOVworld) - The EU on Thursday agreed to renew economic sanctions against Syria until next June, including an oil embargo and asset freezes against allies of President Bashar al-Assad. The sanctions will also include restrictions on investment resources in Syria, financial activities, and the transportation sector. The measures will affect 179 people associated with violent repression in Syria, and 53 entities including the Central Bank of Syria.

The EU on Thursday agreed to renew economic sanctions against Syria until next June. Photo: internet

The decision was released days before Syria’s general election scheduled for next Tuesday. The three presidential candidates are current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, former Minister of State for Administrative Development Affairs Hassan Al-Nouri, and MP Maher Abdul-Hafiz Hajjar. This will be the first general election in Syria in half a century amid the 3-year civil war that has killed 160,000 people and forced millions of people to flee their homes.