Some government ministers, military coup leaders and their adult family members are all targets.

The United States imposed new sanctions on 22 people, including four Myanmar government ministers, in response to the February military coup and attacks on the country’s democracy movement.

The Treasury and Commerce Departments announced a two-pronged operation on Friday as part of Washington’s ongoing response to sanctions. Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi was overthrown in February’s democratically elected government.

Secretary of State Anthony Brinken said in a statement that the new sanctions are “in response to the brutal violence carried out by the Burmese military government and continue to impose costs on military coups.”

Blinken said that the sanctions were not aimed at the people of Myanmar, but aimed at putting pressure on the military to “immediately restore the road to democracy in Myanmar (Myanmar).”

The targets of sanctions are the Minister of Information of Myanmar Gina, Minister of Investment Aung Naiwu, Minister of Labor and Immigration Min Khin, and Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Settchin.

The penalties imposed by the United States in February, March, and May after the coup were expanded. Three members of the powerful National Executive Council and the spouses and adult children of 15 officials were also sanctioned.

Under the sanctions, all U.S. property held in the name of an individual is blocked, and Americans or people in the U.S. are prohibited from conducting property or profit transactions with them.

Andrea Gach, director of the Foreign Assets Control Office of the Ministry of Finance, said in a statement that this action shows that Washington “will continue to increase the cost of the Burmese army and promote accountability of those responsible for military coups and continued violence.”

U.S. and other western countries Since the coup, Myanmar has imposed several sanctions on individuals.

death toll

At the same time, the Ministry of Commerce imposed sanctions on four commercial entities: King Royal Technologies Co, which provides satellite communications services to the military; Wanbao Mining and its two subsidiaries signed a revenue share with a company that helped finance the Chinese Ministry of National Defense. protocol.

These actions came at a time when Myanmar rejected new data released by the United Nations. According to the report, there were reports within the country that security forces had killed at least 883 unarmed people, of which at least 40 were believed to have died during detention. .

At a briefing on Tuesday, a spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters that the country team of the global agency also determined that 5,202 people were detained for opposing military takeover.

The candlelight night strike against the military dictatorship led by the youth of Niubin Village in Langlang Town was successfully demonstrated tonight. #Myanmar what happened #July2Coup pic.twitter.com/Pdg1xMrJcY

-Nyinyi (@ Nyinyi92381213) July 3, 2021

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar said in a statement that it “strongly opposed” the figures provided by the United Nations.

The statement added: “The United Nations is required to refrain from making unilateral remarks without verification, and to verify sensitive information with relevant key ministries and commissions before release.”

Authorities released more than 2,000 anti-coup protesters on Wednesday Prisons from all over Myanmar, including local journalists, have been imprisoned for criticizing the military’s repression.

On Saturday, there were reports that more people might be released from prison because the country’s military leader Gen Min Aung Hlaing was celebrating his birthday.

At the same time, the protesters still despised Min Anglai’s leadership and held several protests across the country on Saturday to condemn him. Many protesters also held a symbolic cremation of his image and placed a funeral wreath with the name of the general.

Although a lockdown order was issued on Friday due to the spread of the new crown virus, Mandalay, the country’s second largest city, even staged a protest. The order covers at least 2 million residents.

Even before the coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi in February, Myanmar’s fragile healthcare system was already struggling to deal with the epidemic.

Since the coup, thousands of doctors, volunteers, and civil servants have joined a large-scale civil disobedience movement to protest against the military government.

Myanmar has reported 3,347 virus-related deaths, but the true number may be higher.