Canada has extended sanctions against representatives of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad for the use of chemical weapons against civilians.

A message on the inclusion in the sanctions list of another 17 high-ranking officials of the Assad regime and five related organizations appeared on the website of the Canadian government on Friday, April 21. Now their assets in Canada will be frozen, and financial transactions involving them are banned.

Canadian Foreign Minister Hristia Freelyand called another expansion of sanctions "a signal to the regime of Assad, who will be responsible for the committed war crimes".

After a chemical attack in the Syrian province of Idlib, Canada imposed sanctions against 27 representatives of the Assad regime.