Canada is joining Washington and Britain in sanctioning dozens of people and entities in Myanmar, in an attempt to end pressure to end arms from flowing to the hands of a military junta that Ottawa says is worsening its aerial attacks on civilians. This photo provided by the Kyunhla Activists Group shows aftermath of an airstrike in Pazigyi village in Sagaing Region's Kanbalu Township, Myanmar, Tuesday, April 11, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-HO, Kyunhla Activists Group, *MANDATORY CREDIT*
OTTAWA – Canada is joining the United States and the United Kingdom in sanctioning dozens of people and entities linked to Myanmar’s military regime.
The new sanctions target 39 people and 22 entities that Ottawa accuses of helping the military junta since it overthrew civilian rule in February 2021.
The Myanmar military has been accused in recent months of conducting deadly airstrikes against civilians, such as at an April gathering of an opposition movement and in early October at a displaced-persons camp.
Ottawa says peer countries are trying to end the sale and transfer of arms to the military regime, which stands accused of mass arsons, razing villages, arbitrary detentions and torture.
The Monday announcement also expands Canadian prohibitions on the export, sale and shipment of aviation fuel to the regime that governs Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma.
Ottawa says the new sanctions are meant to complement regional efforts by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to broker an end to the violence in Myanmar.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2023.
