US sanctions Myanmar military personnel, units over human rights abuse
Washington, Aug 18 : The US Treasury Department on Friday announced to sanction four commanders and two military units in Myanmar, accusing them of being related with human rights abuse cases in the country.
In a statement, the Treasury said the targeted commanders were from Burmese military and Border Guard Police (BGP), Xinhua reported.
Together with the 33rd Light Infantry Division (LID) and the 99th LID, the commanders were punished over the alleged involvement in ethnic cleansing in Rakhine State and "other widespread human rights abuses" in Kachin and Shan States.
These individuals and entities were designated according to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act of 2016 that targeted "perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption."
Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in the statement that the US government "will continue to systematically expose and bring accountability to human rights abusers in this region."
As a result of these actions, any property, or interest in property, of those designated within U.S. jurisdiction is blocked.
Additionally, US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with blocked persons, including entities 50 percent or more owned by designated persons.
Building upon the act, US President Donald Trump signed Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, or "Blocking the Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or Corruption." To date, 84 individuals and entities have been sanctioned under the order.
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Mehbooba seeks release of people arrested for 'peaceful' protests against Khamenei's killing
Srinagar (PTI): Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday urged the Jammu and Kashmir Police to release those arrested for staging protests in the Valley against the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israel strike on February 28.
“Scores of protesters, including women, have been arrested across Kashmir for peacefully participating in rallies in the wake of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's martyrdom.
“Authorities had assured their families that they would be released soon. But, unfortunately, this hasn't been the case. Urge Jammu and Kashmir Police to consider their release at the earliest,” Mufti said in a post on X.
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Kashmir, which is home to about 15 lakh Shias, saw major protests at the Lal Chowk and Saida Kadal in Srinagar, Budgam, Bandipora, Anantnag and Pulwama after the news of Khamenei's killing spread, forcing the authorities to impose restrictions, which were lifted on Saturday morning.
While the protests were largely peaceful, minor clashes broke out at a few places between the security forces and the protesters, prompting the former to use force to maintain law and order.
The US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran on February 28, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader since 1989.
Following the military offensive, Iran has carried out a wave of attacks mainly targeting Israeli and American military bases in several Gulf countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
In the last few days, the conflict has widened significantly with attacks and counter-attacks by both sides.
