EU hits more of Syrian leader Assad's supporters with sanctions

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union imposed sanctions on more supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday, saying the situation in the country "continues to deteriorate". The identities of the seven people and six organisations added to a previous list of 211 individuals and 63 entities will be made public in a legal notice on Saturday, the European Council, representing the 28 member states, said in a statement. Those on the list have their assets in the EU frozen and are barred from entry to the bloc. Recalling previous decisions, the Council added that the EU would "continue imposing and enforcing sanctions that target the regime and its supporters as long as repression continues" and that the bloc continued to support efforts for a political settlement that would see Assad relinquish power. Some EU states have pressed for more dialogue with Assad, who has survived four years of armed revolt and now faces an enemy, in the form of Islamic State, whom Western powers also want to defeat. But the bloc's main military powers, France and Britain, oppose restoring relations with Damascus. (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; editing by Andrew Roche)