Myanmar's worst violence since the military takeover is intensifying the crisis, the UN says (2024)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Myanmar’s escalating conflict and worst violence since the military takeover in 2021 are having a devastating impact on human rights, fundamental freedoms and basic needs of millions of people — as well as “alarming spillover effects” in the region, U.N. officials said Thursday.

Assistant Secretary-General for political affairs Khaled Khiari told the U.N. Security Council that “the civilian toll keeps rising” amid reports of indiscriminate bombing by Myanmar’s armed forces and artillery shelling by various parties.

The nationwide armed conflict in Myanma r began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule.

Thousands of young people fled to jungles and mountains in remote border areas as a result of the military’s suppression and made common cause with ethnic guerrilla forces battle-hardened by decades of combat with the army in pursuit of autonomy.

Despite its great advantage in armaments and manpower, the military has been unable to quell the resistance movement. Over the past five months, the army has been routed in northern Shan state, is conceding swaths of territory in Rakhine state in the west, and is under growing attack elsewhere.

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Myanmar’s main pro-democracy resistance group said Thursday its armed wing launched drone attacks on the airport and a military headquarters in the capital, Naypyitaw, but the ruling military said it destroyed the drones as they attacked. It wasn’t possible to independently verify most details of the incident, but the military’s acknowledgement that it had taken place in one of the country’s most heavily guarded locations will be seen by many as the latest indication that it is losing the initiative.

Khiari did not mention the attack but said the National Unity Consultative Council — formed after the 2021 military takeover to promote a return to democracy and comprising ethnic, political, civil society and resistance groups — convened its Second People’s Assembly on Thursday “to further define their common vision for the future of Myanmar.”

He singled out the fighting between the Arakan Army and the military in Rakhine State, Myanmar’s poorest, which he said “has reached an unprecedented level of violence.”

“The Arakan Army has reportedly gained territorial control over most of central Rakhine and seeks to expand to northern Rakhine” where many minority Rohingya Muslims still live, he said.

The Buddhist Rakhine are the majority ethnic group in Rakhine, which is also known by its older name of Arakan, and have long sought autonomy. They have set up their own well-trained and well-armed force called the Arakan Army.

Members of the Rohingya minority have long been persecuted in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. About 740,000 fled from Myanmar to refugee camps in Bangladesh when the military in August 2017 launched a brutal counterinsurgency campaign in response to attacks in Rakhine by a guerrilla group claiming to represent the Rohingya.

Khiari urged all parties in Rakhine to support the Rohingya, who are caught in the middle of the conflict and continue to experience “significant restrictions” on their freedom of movement as well as denial of citizenship and disproportionate vulnerability to abduction or forced recruitment.

The crisis continues to spill over the borders and added that conflicts in key border areas have weakened security, Khiari said. The breakdown in the rule of law has enabled illicit economies to thrive, with criminal networks preying on vulnerable people with no livelihoods.

“Myanmar has become a global epicenter of methamphetamine and opium production, along with a rapid expansion of global cyber-scam operations, particularly in border areas,” he said. “What began as a regional crime threat in Southeast Asia is now a rampant human trafficking and illicit trade crisis with global implications.”

Senior U.N. humanitarian official Lisa Doughten said the ongoing escalation has left 12.9 million people — nearly 25% of Myanmar’s population — without enough food, stressing that children and pregnant women face malnutrition.

“Across Myanmar, the humanitarian community estimates that some 18.6 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2024 — a nineteen-fold increase since February 2021,” she said.

Doughten said the health system is also in turmoil, with medicines running out. She appealed for urgent funding to assist millions in need, saying the 2023 appeal for $887 million was only 44% funded, causing 1.1 million people to be cut off from aid.

Both Khiari and Doughten echoed U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for a unified international response to the escalating conflict, and for neighboring countries especially to use their influence to open humanitarian channels, end the violence, and seek a political solution.

Khiari said Guterres intends to appoint a new U.N. special envoy for Myanmar soon to engage with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, and other key parties toward those goals.

Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward told the council, however, that “the Myanmar military refuses to engage meaningfully with international efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the crisis.”

But she stressed, “We will not allow Myanmar to become a forgotten crisis.”

Calling Myanmar “our longstanding friend and close partner,” Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia objected to the meeting, saying the country doesn’t threaten international peace and security.

He accused Western nations of supporting armed opposition groups and destabilizing Rakhine and camps for the displaced “for the advancement of their own geopolitical concerns in the region.”

Myanmar's worst violence since the military takeover is intensifying the crisis, the UN says (2024)

FAQs

Myanmar's worst violence since the military takeover is intensifying the crisis, the UN says? ›

UN report finds 5,350 civilians have been killed by the military since the coup in February 2021. Myanmar's military regime has stepped up killings and arrests in an apparent bid to silence opponents with tens of thousands of people arrested since the coup more than three years ago, a United Nations report has found.

How did the military takeover of Myanmar's government in 1962 affect the nation? ›

In the first 12 years following the coup, the country was ruled under martial law, and saw a significant expansion in the military's role in the national economy, politics, and state bureaucracy.

Why is there violence in Myanmar? ›

The military takeover also triggered an intensification of armed conflicts in Myanmar, during which brutal crimes have been committed, including indiscriminate air strikes killing numerous civilians, mass killings of detainees, dismemberment and desecration of bodies, rape, and the deliberate burning of entire villages ...

What is the Myanmar crisis? ›

The Rohingya crisis remains unresolved. 1 Million Rohingya – an ethnic, religious and linguistic minority within Myanmar – have fled violence, large-scale armed attacks and severe human rights violations since the 1990s. Some 600,000 Rohingya currently remain in Rakhine, an area in western Myanmar.

Why is there so much conflict in Myanmar? ›

Insurgencies have been ongoing in Myanmar since 1948, when the country, then known as Burma, gained independence from the United Kingdom. It has largely been an ethnic conflict, with ethnic armed groups fighting Myanmar's armed forces, the Tatmadaw, for self-determination.

Why did Myanmar's military overthrow the government? ›

Addressing the nation on 2 February, the junta used the election commission's failure to resolve the electoral disputes, which it argued 'violated the Constitution and could lead to a “disintegration of national solidarity”', as a pretext for the takeover.

How did the US respond to the Myanmar genocide? ›

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a speech at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, on March 21, 2022, announced, “I have determined that members of the Burmese military committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya” The US became a party to the Genocide Convention in 1988.

Is Myanmar a violent country? ›

Myanmar has faced ongoing turmoil since gaining independence from British rule in 1948. The country has experienced some of the world's longest-running armed conflicts, particularly in its border regions where ethnic militias seek autonomy from military repression.

Why did the Myanmar crisis start? ›

Beginning in 2017, renewed violence, including reported rape, murder, and arson, triggered an exodus of Rohingya, as Myanmar's security forces claimed they were carrying out a campaign to reinstate stability in the country's western region.

Is Myanmar still under military rule? ›

Military rule in Myanmar (also known as Burma) lasted from 1962 to 2011 and resumed in 2021.

What is the UN doing about Myanmar? ›

The UN and partners are currently providing humanitarian assistance up to three million people in Myanmar. The UN System in Myanmar takes a multifaceted approach to peacebuilding support in Myanmar, drawing on global experience and diverse expertise.

What human rights are being violated in Myanmar? ›

Forced labour, human trafficking and child labour are common. The Burmese military junta is also notorious for rampant use of sexual violence as an instrument of control, including allegations of systematic rapes and taking of sex slaves by the military, a practice which continued in 2012.

What consequences have the people of Myanmar suffered from since the military coup? ›

As of Feb 29, 2024, the MMC and pro-military groups have destroyed more than 75 000 homes and properties and killed 4611 pro-democracy activists and civilians since the start of the coup. 1.

Why is Burma now called Myanmar? ›

For generations, the country was called Burma, after the dominant Burman ethnic group. But in 1989, one year after the ruling junta brutally suppressed a pro-democracy uprising, military leaders suddenly changed its name to Myanmar. By then, Burma was an international pariah, desperate for any way to improve its image.

Is Myanmar safe for tourists? ›

Burma (Myanmar) - Level 4: Do Not Travel. Do not travel to Burma due to civil unrest, armed conflict, and arbitrary enforcement of local laws. Reconsider travel to Burma due to limited and/or inadequate healthcare and emergency medical resources, and areas with land mines and unexploded ordnances.

What is the current situation in Myanmar? ›

2023 was marked by an expansion and intensification of violence across the country. Reduced humanitarian access, deepening poverty, and devastating natural disasters exacerbated the humanitarian needs.

What are the consequences of the military coup in Burma? ›

Two years ago, Burma's military regime usurped power from a democratically elected government – blatantly rejecting the will of Burma's people, setting the country on a disastrous path that has killed and displaced thousands, reversing the hard-fought democratic progress achieved over the last decade.

What happened in 1962 in Myanmar? ›

On 2 March 1962, General Ne Win, Chief of Staff, Burma Defense Forces, overthrew the Government of Premier U Nu in a swift bloodless coup d'etat.

What was the impact of the Myanmar genocide? ›

The crisis forced over a million Rohingya to flee to other countries. Most fled to Bangladesh, resulting in the creation of the world's largest refugee camp, while others escaped to India, Thailand, Malaysia, and other parts of South and Southeast Asia, where they continue to face persecution.

What happened after the coup in Myanmar? ›

Begin text: Three years ago, on 1 February 2021, the Myanmar military overthrew the democratically elected government, undoing a decade of progress. Under the military regime, violence against civilians has escalated, with thousands jailed, tortured and killed.

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