US_ EU add more sanctions against Military Junta

The United States and European Union have imposed new sanctions against Myanmar s military regime aimed at officials_ companies and arms dealers_ as campaigners urge quicker implementation of the measures given the deepening crisis in the South-East Asian country.

The EU sanctions apply to 19 more individuals and entities_ including a minister and chief justice_ and are a result of  the continuing escalation of violence and grave human rights violations following the military takeover two years ago _ the European Council said on Tuesday.

The US blacklisted an arms dealer_ Kyaw Min Oo and his Sky Aviator Company. Min Oo has close ties to the Myanmar military and has acted as the middleman to arrange visits to Myanmar by high-ranking foreign military officers_ a US Treasury Department statement said.

Sky Aviator has facilitated arms deals on behalf of the military junta_ including the importation of aircraft parts_ it added.

 Kyaw Min Oo profits from the violence and suffering the military has inflicted on the people of Burma since the military coup_ said Brian Nelson_ the Treasury undersecretary for financial intelligence.

Myanmar was plunged into crisis when the armed forces_ under Senior General Min Aung Hlaing_ seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup in February 2021.

The military has faced widespread armed resistance to its rule and has responded with brutal force.

More than 2_400 people have been killed in the past two years_ according to monitoring group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners_ while the UN children s agency estimates that one million people have been displaced.

The new EU sanctions apply to members of the military_ members of the State Administrative Council (SAC)  the body set up by the military to run the country  as well as the judiciary and prisons service.