Australia hits five Myanmar generals with sanctions

Australia's government on Tuesday unveiled sanctions against five officers in Myanmar's powerful military who are accused of overseeing barbaric violence against members of the Rohingya ethnic group, reports AFP. 

Following similar actions by the United States and the European Union, Australia announced it would freeze the assets of officers including a Lieutenant General who commanded a special operations group believed to be behind atrocities.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the officers - Aung Kyaw Zaw, Maung Maung Soe, Aung Aung, Than Oo and Khin Maung Soe were "responsible for human rights violations committed by units under their command".

The five, some of whom are since believed to have stepped down from their posts, will also be banned from travelling to Australia.

Around 700,000 Rohingya have been driven from their homes in Rakhine state, in southwest Myanmar, since 2016.

The campaign has been marked by numerous extrajudicial killings, mass rape and the burning of villages by security forces.