The European Union has decided to remove Sham Wings from the European sanctions list. The sanction was previously imposed on the company for its involvement in the migrant crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border.
The EU published, in its official newspaper, on Monday, a decision to remove the Sham Wings from the sanctions list, specifically from the section “Legal Persons, Organizations and Bodies”. The airline was previously covered by the sanctions, and the decision came into force on July 18th.
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In March, the EU imposed sanctions on 17 individuals and 11 entities, including the Private Syrian aviation company Sham Wings. It was sanctioned for the involvement of individuals and entities in facilitating illegal crossings of migrants from several countries to the Belarusian-Polish border.
EU accused Sham Wings at the time of having increased the number of flights from Damascus to the Belarusian capital, Minsk, since the summer of 2021.
“In the fall of 2021, Sham Wings opened two new offices in Minsk so that they could organize trips with Damascus. Therefore, the sanctions are due to the company’s contribution to illegal transit activities on the external borders of the European Union.”
At the end of 2021, the Belarusian-Polish border experienced significant tensions due to the influx of migrants trying to reach EU countries.
Syria’s Sham Wings has suspended flights to Minsk airport in Belarus due to tensions on the border with Poland. This came following accusations of illegal crossings.
The United States sanctioned it in 2016 for transporting pro-Assad fighters to Syria and helping Assad’s military intelligence transport weapons and equipment.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
