The EU, UK and Canada announced new sanctions on Tuesday targeting Myanmar's junta's access to “military materials, equipment and funds.”
Britain, the EU and Canada announce new sanctions against the military in Myanmar
The new restrictions on companies supplying aviation fuel and equipment to Myanmar's military, Britain said, were aimed at limiting its “ability to carry out airstrikes on civilians.”
It said August saw the highest number of airstrikes on record by the Myanmar military, killing dozens of civilians and amounting to “serious human rights violations.”
The latest sanctions by Western countries since the overthrow of Aung San Suu Kyi's government in a military coup in February 2021 target six companies involved in supplying aviation fuel or restricted goods to the junta.
They are strengthening several previous rounds of restrictions against military jet fuel suppliers and arms dealers in 2023.
“The human rights abuses committed by the Myanmar military across Myanmar, including airstrikes on civilian infrastructure, are unacceptable and the impact on innocent civilians is intolerable,” said British Assistant Foreign Secretary Catherine West.
“That is why today the UK is announcing new sanctions against suppliers of equipment and aviation fuel to the military in Myanmar.
“Together with the EU and Canada, we are today further restricting the military’s access to funds, equipment and resources.”
West added that the UK remains “unwavering in its support of the people of Myanmar and their hopes for a peaceful and democratic future”.
The British Foreign Office in London said Britain had provided more than 150 million pounds of humanitarian aid, health care, education and support to civil society and local communities in Myanmar since the 2021 coup.
More than 3.4 million people have been displaced by the fighting, over 18 million are in need of humanitarian assistance, and there is currently “an increase in serious and organized crime” in Myanmar, it said.
The latest sanctions come as ethnic minority rebels and “People's Defense Forces” fighting to overturn the junta's attempted coup are riding the wave of a year-long major offensive.
It has driven the junta out of around 50,000 square kilometers, roughly the size of Bosnia, according to analysts and an AFP tally, and brings the rebels within sight of the former royal capital of Mandalay.
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