Myanmar: the civil war is increasingly bloody, three million people have already been forced to abandon their homes

ROMA – Myanmar is on the brink of the abyss, in the grip of a humanitarian crisis that is increasingly difficult to face and resolve and which has been pressing since February 2021, when the military junta returned to power with a coup. There are currently three million displaced people: people who fled due to the conflict and general insecurity. A third of the refugees are children who have stopped going to school and today are exposed to various forms of abuse: from forced recruitment to child labor.

Escape from war. The number of people who have fled in many parts of the country has increased from October 2023 to today. The 3 million displaced people are struggling to survive in a widespread humanitarian crisis that has reduced almost 18.6 million people into poverty: one million more than the previous year, the fifth most serious emergency globally. According to data released by United Nations the number of refugees has increased by 900 percent since the coup in February 2021. Among the most needy and therefore the most vulnerable there are six million children. Chin, Magway and Sagaing states in northwestern Myanmar continue to host the highest number of refugees: nearly 1.5 million people. Those of Kayah, Bago, Kayin, Southern Shan, Mon and Tanintharyi, in the south-east of the country, number over 900 thousand. Another 356 thousand people have been displaced in Rakhine. The possibility that aid reaches internally displaced people in these parts of the country – if we want to try to contain the humanitarian crisis – is fundamental, but unfortunately it is hampered by the lack of security and by the decisions of the junta, which especially in Rakhine prevents humanitarian workers to intervene and deliver medical and food supplies.

Aid. In 2024, workers from non-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies helped almost 950,000 people in need with humanitarian assistance interventions, including almost half a million displaced people. But unfortunately the numbers of aid are still few compared to the severity of the emergency, also exacerbated by the lack of funding, a problem which unfortunately is affecting various crises in different parts of the world this year. For Myanmar – underlines the UN – 994 million dollars would be needed in 2024, but for now only 5 percent of this amount has been financed. Among other things, as the cyclone season approaches, additional resources would be needed to protect the most vulnerable and save human lives.

The abuse. The military junta’s troops repeatedly launch air attacks and drop bombs in various areas of the country, including densely populated ones. They arrested and used civilians as human shields particularly in the Magway region, Kachin state and Rakhine state. Within a week in late April, over 20 people died and over 70 were injured by army heavy and light artillery attacks. Four children were killed, while seven were injured. In December 2022, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2669, condemning abuses and attacks against civilians by the Burmese military. The resolution called on the military to release political prisoners, restore democratic institutions and engage in dialogue. But the requests have all remained unheard. Indeed, in the meantime the junta has intensified attacks in inhabited areas – documents Human Rights Watch – including air ones and blocked humanitarian aid. Refugees flee to Bangladesh, China, India and Thailand. Thousands of Rohingya, however, are making journeys by sea to Indonesia and Malaysia.