DAMASCUS (Dispatches) -- The EU has imposed sanctions on the Syrian military dominated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militants for their role in the massacre of Alawite civilians on the country’s coast earlier this year.  
According to the EU official journal, the 27-member bloc placed sanctions on the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade, the Hamza Division, and the Sultan Murad Division.
The embargoes were announced due to their targeting of “civilians and especially the Alawite community, including by committing arbitrary killings.”
The Sultan Suleiman Shah founder Muhammad Hussein al-Jasim and Hamza Division chief Sayf Boulad Abu Bakr were hit with asset freezes and bans on entering the EU.
The official journal went on to say that they committed “serious human rights abuses in Syria, including torture and arbitrary killings of civilians.”
The three factions were formerly part of armed groups which were known as the Syrian National Army (SNA). 
These factions were involved in the massacres committed by Damascus’s forces against Alawite civilians on the Syrian coast in early March.
Thousands were killed, and the results of a government-led investigation into the massacres have not been made clear. 
According to several reports, Syrian forces have continued to carry out sectarian killings, kidnappings, and persecution across Syria, targeting Alawites and other minorities.
According to several reports, Syrian forces, dominated by the HTS and other militant groups, have continued to carry out sectarian killings, kidnappings, and persecution across Syria, targeting Alawites and other minorities.
The HTS militant group seized control of Damascus on December 8, 2024, culminating a swift offensive that had begun in the northwestern province of Aleppo just two weeks earlier and ultimately brought an end to Assad’s 24-year rule.
The HTS administration has since been involved in flagrant violations of human rights in Syria, particularly against minorities, namely Syria’s Alawite minority, drawing widespread condemnations from the international community.
A series of violent clashes also between HTS gunmen and members of a Druze community in Syria earlier this month left dozens of people dead and raised fears of deadly sectarian violence.
The Druze minority had a history of supporting the Assad government and standing against Israeli occupation and expansionist policies, including in the occupied Golan Heights.
The UK and EU states have been gradually lifting Syria sanctions since the start of this year. Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a decision to lift all sanctions against the administration of Syria’s self-proclaimed president, Abu Muhammad al-Jolani.
On Thursday, the HTS administration signed a $7 billion energy deal with a consortium of US companies and some regional firms.
The agreement was sealed at the presidential palace in Damascus in the presence of Jolani and U.S. ambassador Thomas Barrack.
Sources said the plants, which aim to generate 5,000 megawatts, would use U.S. and European technology.
The consortium is led by Qatar’s UCC Concession Investments and includes Turkey’s Kalyon GES Enerji Yatirimlari and Cengiz Enerji, along with Power International USA.