WASHINGTON: The House has called on President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on members of Myanmar’s military and security forces following a deadly crackdown that forced more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh.
The resolution passed on Wednesday condemns “murderous ethnic cleansing and atrocities against civilians” in Myanmar’s response to attacks by Rohingya militants in late August.
The action is not binding but it will intensify pressure on the administration to act.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last month declared the violence against Rohingya to be “ethnic cleansing” and said the US was considering “targeted sanctions” against those responsible.
Broad-based US sanctions on Myanmar were eased under former President Barack Obama as the Southeast Asian nation shifted from decades of direct military rule toward democracy.
