The European Union has imposed sanctions on four more Myanmar junta officials and two of its arms suppliers, citing the grave situation in the country.
The fresh sanctions announced on Monday target a minister, two other members of the junta’s State Administrative Council (SAC), and a commander responsible for airstrikes on civilians in Karenni (Kayah) State, the EU said.
Star Sapphire Group of Companies and Royal Shune Lei Co Ltd, which are accused of generating income for the junta and supplying its military with arms and other equipment, also face restrictive measures.
The fresh sanctions target retired Lieutenant General Nyo Saw, a ministerial advisor to junta chief Min Aung Hlaing who was appointed to the SAC in September.
Nyo Saw helps fund the regime as the military’s business chief and also chairs a committee overseeing imports of fuel from Russia, the regime’s major arms supplier. He also protects the interests of Min Aung Hlaing’s family, who view him as a trusted aide.
Also sanctioned was Major General Hla Moe, the chief of Eastern Command who has overseen a sharp rise in airstrikes on civilians in Karenni State this year. Airstrikes in the eastern state have more than doubled the combined total in 2021 and 2022, causing civilian casualties to soar and internally displaced persons to surge from 200,000 in 2022 to 250,000 this year, the EU said.
The two other SAC members added to the sanctions list are Wunna Maung Lwin, the junta’s former foreign affairs minister, and Hmu Htan. Both are also members of the military’s proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). The pair are directly responsible for the junta’s repressive decisions and serious human rights violations, the EU said.
Those listed are subject to a travel ban and assets freeze within the EU.
“The EU remains deeply concerned by the continuing escalation of violence in Myanmar and the evolution towards a protracted conflict with regional implications,” Monday’s announcement said.
It condemned “the continuing grave human rights violations by the Myanmar armed forces, including torture, sexual and gender-based violence, the persecution of civil society actors, human rights defenders and journalists, and attacks on the civilian population, including ethnic and religious minorities.”
The EU has now sanctioned a total of 103 individuals and 21 entities in Myanmar.
