BANGKOK: The UN special rapporteur on Thursday accused Myanmar’s junta of destroying a country that it cannot control.
Clashes between the military and an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups have already eroded a Beijing-brokered peace in January. The ceasefire had stopped briefly widespread fighting in the northern part of Myanmar since a military coup ended democratic rule in 2021.
UN special rapporteur Tom Andrews during a briefing to the national security body of Thailand said “Junta is on its heels, it’s losing troops, it’s losing military facilities, it is literally losing ground.”
He noted that it appears as if the Junta is trying to destroy a country that it cannot control. He said that the military is attacking civilians in response to its losses. He added there had been a considerable increase in the number of attacks on monasteries, hospitals and schools in the past six months.
Ethnic minority fighters took control of a town from the military on a major trade road leading to China’s Yunnan province earlier this week after days of clashes.
The northern Shan state has also been affected by fighting since late last month when an alliance of ethnic armed groups started an offensive against the military.
The clashes have derailed a Beijing-brokered truce that paused an offensive by the alliance of the Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army.
