Canada announces sanctions against Myanmar general

OTTAWA: Canada announced targeted sanctions on Friday against a Myanmar general who led an army crackdown that forced almost 700,000 Muslim Rohingya refugees to flee to Bangladesh.

The action follows United States sanctions levelled against Major-General Maung Maung Soe in December. In a statement, Ottawa said the general played a "significant role... in human rights violations against the Rohingya in Myanmar and in the violence and persecution that has forced more than 688,000 Rohingya to flee their country."

"Canada will not stand by silently as crimes against humanity are committed against the Rohingya," said Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. "Those responsible for these atrocities must be held to account," she added.