Soldiers sit on a truck being driven to Yangon to quell protesters against a military coup, Feb. 28, 2021.
The situation in Myanmar is deteriorating rapidly as the military continues its bloody crackdown. The U.N. envoy has warned that a “massacre” could be imminent in Myanmar, suggesting that the U.N. Security Council must consider significant action to prevent a disaster.
The UN Security Council held a closed-door meeting on March 31 to discuss the situation in Myanmar. According to Reuters, “Special Envoy for Myanmar” Christine Schraner Burgener warned at the meeting that a “massacre” could be imminent as the Burmese military intensifies its crackdown on protesters. “The meeting was attended by a number of representatives of the Burmese military.
Burgener said the Burmese military is incapable of governing the country and that the situation on the ground is only getting worse, suggesting that the UN Security Council must consider all available options and take significant action to help the Burmese people and prevent a disaster in the heart of Asia.
Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, British Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward said the violence by the Burmese military was totally unacceptable. The international community needs to send a strong message about this, and the Security Council must play a role at the level of an “international response.
A wounded man sits on a stretcher in Yangon on March 28.
A man was shot and injured in Yangon on March 28.
A wounded man is carried away by his companions in Yangon on March 29.
Wounded Burmese people flee to Thailand and are treated by Thai doctors on March 30.
Wounded Burmese people flee to Thailand and are treated by Thai doctors on March 30.
According to the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners in Burma (AAPP), 521 people had been killed by the military in protests against the coup as of March 30.
The military’s bloody crackdown has also provoked resistance from Burmese civilian militant groups, and on March 27, the Burmese military airstrikes on villages in Karen State left homes in ashes and thousands of people fled into the forest or tried to enter Thailand.
The Karen National Union said in a 30-day release that thousands of Tatmadaw troops were advancing and that the union would defend its land.
On the same day, three ethnic armed groups in Burma: the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Arakan Army (ARA) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army), issued a joint statement that they would fight back if the military did not stop killing people.
The statement said they “will cooperate with all the nationalities that have joined this Burmese Spring Revolution in self-defense.
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) is concerned that civil war is likely to break out in Burma if these armed ethnic groups decide to fight back by force.
Protesters face off with the military in Yangon on March 28.
Protesters face off with the military in Yangon on March 28.
Protesters confront the military in Yangon on March 28.
People in Yangon hold a protest march on March 31.
People in Yangon hold a protest march on March 31.
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