US House Foreign Affairs Committee Passes Amended Syria Sanctions Bill

The US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee is ready to slap sanctions on anyone engaging in business with Damascus.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee said in a press release on Wednesday it had passed an amended bill that would impose new sanctions on anyone doing business with the Syrian government or its military and intelligence agencies.

"Today, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, chaired by Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), passed as amended the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2017," the release stated. "The bill seeks to help stop the wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people and hold Syrian human rights abusers accountable for their crimes."

The bill would also target government-controlled oil, airline and telecommunications industries and the Syrian Central Bank.

As amended, it would impose sanctions on anyone who commits human rights abuses, hinders the delivery of humanitarian aid in Syria or facilitates the transfer of goods or technology into the country that are likely to be used to commit human rights abuses.

In November 2016, the House of Representatives passed an earlier version of the bill, but it was never signed into law.