UN adds al-Nusra to sanctions blacklist

UNITED NATIONS

A fighter from Jabhat al-Nusra holds an Islamist flag in Raqqa province. REUTERS photo

The U.N. Security Council has agreed to add Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda 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-Qaeda in Iraq. The decision will subject 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 al-Assad’s government. It joined ranks with al-Qaeda in Iraq in early April. On May 16, the U.S. State Department designated al-Nusra leader Muhammad al-Jawlani as a “global terrorist.”

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed concern after Turkish authorities arrested a group of militants from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front on May 30 who had allegedly been planning an attack inside Turkey and were in possession of sarin gas. He urged Turkey to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.