Millions of people in Myanmar "cannot afford for us to forget" their suffering, a UN
official said Thursday, describing mounting hunger, mass displacement and
safety concerns as the conflict between the junta and ethnic minority groups
drags on.
The military`s ouster of Aung San Suu Kyi`s government in 2021 sparked
renewed fighting with ethnic minority armed groups, as well as with
pro-democracy "People`s Defense Forces" (PDFs) in areas previously untouched by
decades of conflict in Myanmar.
"As the conflict continues to escalate, as humanitarian needs intensify,
and with the monsoon season just around the corner, time is of essence for the
people of Myanmar," UN official Lisa Doughten told the Security Council, on
behalf of humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths.
"They cannot afford for us to forget. They cannot afford to wait. They need
the support of the international community now to help them survive in this
time of fear and turmoil."
According to the United Nations, 2.8 million people are displaced in
Myanmar, 90 percent of them since the junta took power in 2021. That number has
only risen as fighting has intensified in the Southeast Asian nation since last
autumn.
In October, an alliance of ethnic minority fighters launched a surprise
offensive in northern Shan state, capturing territory and taking control of
lucrative trade routes to China.
Across the country, residents "are living in daily fear for their lives,"
Doughten said -- especially since the junta said in February it would enforce a
military service law, allowing it to call up all men aged 18-35 and women aged
18-27 for two years.
"Across Myanmar, hunger is mounting. In 2024, food insecurity is now
affecting some 12.9 million people -- nearly 25 percent of the population," the
UN official added.
Khaled Khiari, the UN assistant secretary general for the Middle East, Asia
and the Pacific, said an end to the "military`s campaign of violence and
political repression" would be "a vital step."
He expressed concern about what he called "unprecedented" unrest in western
Rakhine state, where civilians, notably Rohingya, are caught in fighting
between the military and fighters affiliated with the Arakan Army.
About one million Rohingya, a mainly Muslim minority that has faced
persecution in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, have fled to neighboring
Bangladesh.
The current situation in Rakhine means there is no "immediate prospect for
the safe, dignified, voluntary and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya to
their places of origin or choice," Khiari said.
To try to find a solution to Myanmar`s political crisis, Khiari said that
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres plans to appoint a new special envoy to
the country "in the coming days."
The post has been vacant since June 2023. (AFP)
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