UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General António Guterres has voiced deep concern over the escalating violence in Myanmar, particularly condemning the recent violence that claimed the lives of 25 Rohingya members in airstrikes, a statement by his spokesperson stated.
Expressing grave worry, the UN chief emphasized the imperative need for the protection of civilians, including aid workers, in accordance with international humanitarian law. Guterres reiterated his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and urged for unhindered humanitarian access to affected areas, as conveyed by his deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, in a statement issued on Monday.
The report by Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica, a Myanmar research and advocacy organization, shed light on the dire situation since the military’s takeover in 2021, citing alarming statistics of civilian casualties and infrastructure damage. According to the report, 936 civilians have lost their lives, and 878 have been wounded in 1,652 airstrikes, with religious buildings, schools, and medical facilities among the structures targeted.
Violence Against Rohingya in Myanmar
The latest tragedy unfolded in the Rohingya village of Thada, approximately 340 kilometers southwest of Mandalay, when a jet fighter reportedly dropped two bombs on the community around 1:30 a.m. Local sources revealed that among the 25 fatalities were six children, with some victims being displaced individuals seeking refuge from nearby conflict-ridden areas.
Independent media outlets corroborated the incident, reporting varying death tolls between 21 and 23, highlighting the challenges in accessing accurate information in Myanmar’s restricted media landscape. Restricted reporting and severed communication lines in the affected region have hindered independent verification of the airstrikes’ details.
The Rohingya minority, long subjected to persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, has faced severe hardships, with hundreds of thousands forced to flee to neighboring Bangladesh following a brutal military crackdown in 2017. Meanwhile, the ongoing conflict between the military and the Arakan Army, an armed group representing the Buddhist Rakhine ethnic group, has further exacerbated tensions and led to widespread displacement in Rakhine State.
