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World :: £100m Assad assets in UK are frozen

Assets worth £100m (€127.4m) belonging to Syrian leaders have been located and frozen in Britain, the BBC has reported.

The European Union imposed sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad's regime after it violently suppressed anti-government protests.

Most of the UK assets is cash held in bank accounts by people and organisations named in the EU's action.

Thousands of people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began against President Assad in March 2011.

The White House says the killing in Damascus of three top figures at the heart of Syria's defence establishment on Wednesday showed President Assad was losing control.

The attack prompted the UN Security Council to delay until Thursday a vote on a Western-sponsored resolution calling for tougher sanctions on Damascus.

Russia has said some countries are inciting the opposition rather than calming it down.

Earlier this year, President Assad's British-born wife, Asma, was added to the list of people whose assets were frozen and more names are expected to be added to the list in the coming weeks.

President Assad and his British-born wife Asma are banned from travelling to EU countries