"Today, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned four Burmese military and Border Guard Police (BGP) commanders and two Burmese military units for their involvement in ethnic cleansing in Burma’s Rakhine State and other widespread human rights abuses in Burma’s Kachin and Shan States," the release said.
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Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence is quoted in the release as saying that by putting these sanctions in place, the US government is trying to ensure military units and their leaders stop brutal acts, including ethnic cleansing, massacres, and sexual assault, among others.
Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Myanmar, have been fleeing their homes to avoid waves of violence following the government's deployment of police and military units in response to an attack by Rohingya insurgents on security posts in the Rakhine State. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), nearly 700,000 Rohingyas have left the country for Bangladesh since last August for the fear of persecution.