The United States would identify the first round of targets this week.
United States President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that he will sanction Myanmar’s military leaders for staging a coup in the South Asian country on February 1, reported Reuters. Biden said the order enabled his administration “to immediately sanction the military leaders who directed the coup, their business interests as well as close family members”. The administration would identify the first round of targets this week. The government was also taking steps to prevent the military leaders from having access to $1 billion in Myanmar government funds held in the United States, the US president said. “We’re also going to impose strong exports controls,” Biden added. “We’re freezing US assets that benefit the Burmese government, while maintaining our support for health care, civil society groups, and other areas that benefit the people of Burma directly.” Biden further called on the military junta to release detained protesters and civilian leaders, including the country’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and cease their crackdowns on demonstrators, reported CNN.
