Sanctions show EU divisions

The European Union placed 13 Syrian officials on its sanctions list yesterday, including a brother of President Bashar al-Assad, a first step aimed at forcing Syria to end violence against anti-government protesters.

Britain and France had hoped to get sanctions against the president himself, but that move was opposed by Germany and Spain. The failure underlined divisions in the EU over the effectiveness of an embargo in restraining his government's actions.

Included in the sanctions was Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of Mr Assad, who owns Syria's largest mobile phone company, Syriatel, and several large firms in the construction and oil sectors.

The list included the president's brother, Maher al-Assad, who commands Syria's Republican Guard.