WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed arms restrictions on Nicaragua on Thursday, the U.S. State Department said, adding that the Biden administration remained concerned about the Nicaraguan government's "brutal repression" of its people.

       The State Department said the U.S. was curbing the import and export of U.S.-origin weaponry and defense services destined for or originating in Nicaragua.

       "The United States will continue to use all available diplomatic and economic tools to promote accountability for the Ortega-Murillo regime and to support the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Nicaraguans as they pursue a more just and prosperous future," it said in a statement.

       The U.S. Commerce Department also applied more restrictive rules to the export of U.S. items to Nicaragua on Thursday, citing concerns about the government's human rights abuses against citizens and civil society groups, as well as the government's deepening military and security ties with Russia.

       (Reporting by Katharine Jackson, Ismail Shakil and Karen Freifeld; editing by Christina Fincher and Mark Heinrich)