An executive order signed by the US president Barack Obama has imposed sanctions on Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and six senior Syrian officials for human rights violations, BBC has reported. The others named are vice president Farouk al-Sharaa; prime minister Adel Safar; interior minister Mohammed al-Shaar; defence minister Ali Habib; Abdul Fatah Qudsiya, the head of military intelligence; and Mohammed Dib Zaitoun, the head of the political security directorate.