The Burmese military is building up troops and equipment in Chin State and neighbouring areas in North-Western Burma. Rockets are being fired into towns, setting buildings ablaze.
We are concerned a large-scale military offensive against civilians could be imminent, leading to a human rights and humanitarian catastrophe.
This troop build-up is happening in an area where there has been strong resistance to the military coup, and already the military have been using jets to bomb towns and villages, and have killed dozens of people as well as forcing thousands to flee their homes.
The UN Human Rights Commissioner has issued a strong statement, saying:
“We urge the international community to speak with one voice, to prevent the commission of further serious human rights violations against the people of Myanmar. Influential states must prevail on the Tatmadaw to de-escalate the situation, protect civilian lives and property, and ensure access to humanitarian aid for those who need it.”
But the UN Security Council has failed to act, despite warnings.
For Burma Campaign UK, the current situation has echoes of the situation in Rakhine State in 2017, in the run-up to the military offensive against the Rohingya in 2017.
We called on the UN Security Council to act then, but they failed to do so. We must force them to act now.
We can’t predict for sure that the military are planning another large-scale military offensive against civilians, but based on past experience we can’t take the risk and stand by and do nothing.
The British government has responsibility for Burma issues at the UN Security Council. Email British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss now calling on her to convene an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the crisis in North-Western Burma.
