WASHINGTON - The US government has moved to freeze the assets of Syria's interior minister and a military intelligence chief, accusing them of abetting terrorism and destabilising the region.

The Treasury Department named Syria's Interior Minister Ghazi Kanaan and Rustum Ghazali, a military spy chief who had responsibility for neighbouring Lebanon, as "Specially Designated Nationals" under an anti-terrorism presidential order.

Ghazali left Lebanon when Syria withdrew its military forces and intelligence agents.

"Today's designation freezes any assets the designees may have located in the United States, and prohibits US persons from engaging in transactions with these individuals," it said in a press release.

The US government said it believed that Kanaan and Ghazali "have directed the Syrian Arab Republic Government's (SARG) military and security presence in Lebanon and/or contributed to the SARG's support for terrorism".

"Both Ghazali and Kanaan allegedly engaged in a variety of corrupt activities and were reportedly the beneficiaries corrupt business deals during their respective tenures in Lebanon," the Treasury added.

It said that before being replaced by Ghazali in late 2002, Kanaan served as Syrian Military Intelligence chief for Lebanon for about 20 years.

"Actions like today's are intended to financially isolate bad actors supporting Syria's efforts to destabilise its neighbours," Treasury Secretary John Snow said in the statement.

"We are seeing democracy take hold in Lebanon and other places in the Middle East, yet Syria continues to support violent groups and political strife," he said.

"Syria needs to join its neighbours in embracing the progress towards liberty."

The move comes after the US administration used the executive order Wednesday to freeze the assets of eight Syrian, North Korean and Iranian entities accused of spreading weapons of mass destruction.

Syria withdrew its last troops from Lebanon in April to end a 29-year presence there. But Washington insists that Damascus still has intelligence agents working on the ground to destabilise the neighbouring nation.

The US government also accuses Syria of tolerating the passage of foreign fighters heading to fuel the insurgency in neighbouring Iraq.

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