U.S. imposes sanctions on Syrian prisons, officials

FILE PHOTO: People walk past posters depciting Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, ahead of the May 26 presidential election, in the district of al-Waer in Homs, Syria May 23, 2021. Picture taken May 23, 2021. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said on Wednesday it had imposed sanctions on eight Syrian prisons run by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's intelligence apparatus and five senior officials who control the sites, where human rights abuses have taken place.

The Treasury Department also put sanctions on Syrian armed group Ahrar al-Sharqiya, which operates in northern Syria, for abuses against civilians, as well as on two of the group's leaders, it said in a statement.