Arab states will monitor letters ofcredit (L/Cs) in Syria as violence in the country continues and sanctions imposed on President Bashar al-Assad's government tighten.

The L/C monitoring will coincide with the Arab League's freeze on Syrian assets and severing of financial and commercial ties.

Sanctions

Violence in the last weekend of November, during which activists say at least 42 people died, appears to have galvanised Arab states into imposing a tough tranche of sanctions on Syria.

The Arab League's sanctions, which would plunge Syria's economy deeper into isolation, also include travel bans on certain Syrian officials and restrictions on commercial flights to Syria.

L/C monitoring

The sanctions regime calls for Arab central banks to monitor L/C traffic to ensure that documentary credits do not support transactions proscribed by sanctions.

Some L/C transactions, such as those involving the importation of basic essentials, are exempted from sanctions.

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