EU curbs Syria's Assad cousins, others over suspected drug trade

FILE PHOTO: Syria's President Bashar al-Assad addresses the new members of parliament in Damascus, Syria in this handout released by SANA on August 12, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY/File Photo

The European Union on Monday placed sanctions on people and groups linked to what it described as the Syrian government's "large-scale drug trafficking operations," and the EU also included one Russian company.

The Syrian government did not respond to a request for comment on the accusations or the sanctions against officials and military personnel.