European Union countries on Monday decided to impose sanctions on seven senior military, border and police officials in Myanmar over atrocities and human rights violations committed against the country’s Rohingya population.
Report says the decision comes as the EU grows increasingly critical of the country after its military launched a crackdown in August on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State that drove 700,000 people to flee.
The sanctions, which include asset freezes and travel bans, are the first ones to be imposed by the bloc over human rights violations against the Rohingya.
“These violations include unlawful killings, sexual violence and the systematic burning of Rohingya houses and buildings,’’ EU foreign ministers noted in a statement.
They said the EU would continue to review the situation in the country, including the possibility of further targeted restrictive measures.
Two of the sanctioned generals, Maj.-Gen. Maung Maung Soe and Lt.-Gen. Aung Kyaw Zaw, resigned in recent weeks after “failing to control” Rohingya militant attacks in August 2017, Myanmar’s commander-in-chief wrote on Facebook.
(dpa/NAN)