The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has designated three entities and three individuals pursuant to Executive Order 13894, for engaging in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability or territorial integrity of Syria. Two of the designated entities are militia groups operating in the Afrin region of northern Syria. According to OFAC, these militias threaten the civilian population with kidnapping and extortion, targeting in particular the region’s Kurdish population. The three individuals designated are Mohammad Hussein al-Jasim, Walid Hussein al-Jasim, and Sayf Boulad Abu Bakr, who hold leadership roles in the designated militias. The third entity is a Turkish car dealership owned by Mohammad Hussein al-Jasim.
As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of the designees within the United States or within the possession or control of a US person are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving the designated persons. In addition, entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.