Monday, President Obama signed into order the Executive Order Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Burundi that puts into the effect the long anticipated Burundi sanctions.

The sanctions, which have been established pursuant to the InternationalEmergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the National Emergencies Act (NEA), are in response to the escalating violence against civilians after the disputed elections of President Nkurunziza, blocked several high level officials. Those sanctioned include Major General Godefriod Niyombare, Minister of Public Service Alain Guillaume Bunyoni, Former Defense Minister Cyrille Ndayirukiye and Deputy Director-General of the National Police Godefroid Bizmana.

Bases for the designations began in April of this year when President Nkurunziza said he would run for a third term. Opposition groups have said that the third term would be a violation of the constitution and may result in ethnic clashes. Nkurunziza claims that the third term would only count as his second because his first term was an appointment and not an election. What followed were clashes between protestors and police that left several dead and an attempted coup by Niyombare in conjunction with the other deignees. The coup failed and the opposition boycotted the election leaving Nkurunziza to win a third term.

The men designated under the new blocking order were charged in Burundi in connection with the coup and for their parts in creating civil unrest. This blocking comes a month after the European Union also sanctioned 4 high-ranking security and intelligence officials for “undermining democracy or obstructing efforts to achieve a political solution to the current crisis in Burundi.”

Burundi, a country marred by a history of death and unrest had seemed to be on an upswing since peace talks in 2008 but the current situation is seen by many as a major setback.