The Ministries of Defense and Interior were blacklisted by the United States

Washington imposes new sanctions on Myanmar in response to escalating repression

Pro-democracy demonstrators protest against the military coup in Myanmar.

EPA

The United States announced yesterday that it had imposed a new package of sanctions on Myanmar "in response to the military coup and the escalation of violence against peaceful demonstrators."

The US Department of Commerce said, in a statement, that it had imposed "new restrictions on exports" to Myanmar, and included on the US blacklist the Ministries of Defense and Interior in Myanmar "responsible for the coup", in addition to "two commercial entities owned and managed by the Ministry of Defense."

The statement indicated that, according to the new sanctions, it will impose increased control and harsher conditions on "sensitive" exports to Myanmar, which is witnessing a bloody crackdown by the army against the protesters of the coup that it carried out a month ago, which overthrew the civilian government.

This is the third package of sanctions imposed by Washington on the military junta that took power in Myanmar in a coup that toppled the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in early February.

The administration of US President Joe Biden imposed the first package of sanctions on February 11, and at that time targeted a number of leaders of the ruling military council, including the leader of the coup leaders, General Min Aung Hling.

As for the second package imposed by Washington last week, it targeted two members of the military council, General Maung Mong Kyaw, Commander of the Air Force, and Lt. Gen. Moi Myint Tun.

On Thursday, State Department spokesman Ned Price warned in a tweet on "Twitter" that the United States "will continue to take measures against the military council" in Myanmar.

On Wednesday, 38 pro-democracy demonstrators were killed in Myanmar, and others were wounded by security forces, who continue to fire live ammunition, in defiance of the international wave of condemnation.

On Thursday, the United Nations special envoy for Myanmar, Swiss Christine Schraner Burgener, called on UN member states to impose strong sanctions on Myanmar.

The army wages a bloody campaign against the coup protesters.

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