UN adds al-Nusra in Syria to sanctions blacklist
May 30, 2013, 10:47 PM
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – The U.N. Security Council has agreed to add Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaida linked opposition force fighting in Syria, to the U.N. sanctions blacklist.
The U.S. Mission to the United Nations said none of the 15 council members objected to adding al-Nusra as an alias of al-Qaida in Iraq by the deadline Thursday.
The mission said the decision by the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against al-Qaida will be officially published on Friday, subjecting al-Nusra to a global arms embargo and asset freeze.
Al-Nusra has emerged as the most effective and organized opposition fighting force against President Bashar Assad’s government. It joined ranks with al-Qaida in Iraq in early April.
On May 16, the U.S. State Department designated al-Nusra leader Muhammad al-Jawlani as a “global terrorist,” subjecting him to U.S. sanctions.
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