The action includes blocking top military conglomerates and the ministries of defence and home affairs from certain types of trade, sources told Reuters.

The U.

S has also indefinitely frozen $1 billion in funds which Myanmar's military rulers attempted to withdraw from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Washington is also introducing export restrictions requiring US suppliers to seek hard to obtain licenses to ship Myanmar's military certain items.

The new measures come as the military intensifies its crackdown on peaceful protesters who have taken to the streets almost every day since Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government was overthrown on February 1st.

More than 1700 people have been arrested, including 29 journalists, and at least 54 people have been killed, according to the United Nations.

US President Joe Biden slapped sanctions on Myanmar last month, including the defense minister and three companies in the jade and gems sector.

In a statement on Thursday, the U.

S.

Commerce Department said that it will not continue allowing Myanmar's military to benefit from access to many items.

Advocacy group Justice for Myanmar said on Tuesday that the Ministry of Home Affairs, which commands the police, had purchased American technology that was being used for social media surveillance.

The two conglomerates being targeted, Myanmar Economic Corporation and Myanmar Economic Holdings LTD.

Are also used by the military to control vast swaths of the country's economy, with holdings ranging from beer and cigarettes to tires, mining and real estate.

But the new measures are expected to have limited impact as the U.

S ships little to Myanmar annually and the targeted entities are not major importers.