Explainer: West looks to tougher sanctions as Myanmar violence intensifies

FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, February 17, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

(Reuters) - A crackdown by security forces in Myanmar in which at least 18 anti-coup demonstrators were killed has brought renewed calls for tougher international sanctions on the ruling junta.

Western outrage over the Feb. 1 coup and the killing of protesters has reignited a debate on the effectiveness of sanctions, less than a decade after liberalisation prompted most countries to start removing them.