DUBAI, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The United States announced it would impose sanctions on five entities, two of which are based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for "supplying weapons and fuel to the Syrian regime under President Bashar al-Assad," the UAE daily The National reported on Friday.
The two UAE based firms to be sanctioned are International Pipeline Construction (IPC) and Sonex Investments Ltd, said the report.
The report quoted U.S. government statement claiming that UAE-based Sonex Investments "acted as a buyer, consignee, or charterer for shipments of crude oil and petroleum products discharged at Baniyas, Syria."
Baniyas is a Mediterranean port city located in Syria's northwestern Tartous Governorate.
The statement said a shipment by Sonex of over 90,000 metric tons of fuel oil were delivered in May 2017 and another shipment of over 43,000 metric tons of crude oil in November 2017.
IPC, on the other hand, would be sanctioned for facilitating payments originating in Syria, said the report.
In addition, IPC is being owned or controlled by Hesco Engineering which is owned by George Haswani, who, according to the U.S. statement cited by The National, is "one of the Syrian regime's middlemen for dealings between the government of Syria and the Islamic State."
