The UN on Tuesday denounced mass killings in Myanmar, accusing the army of possible crimes against humanity and war crimes since the February 1, 2021 military coup.
In a report covering the post-coup period, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on the international community to take immediate action to stem the spiral of violence in Myanmar.
“The appalling scale and scope of the violations of international law suffered by the people of Myanmar demand a firm, unified and resolute international response,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement.
The High Commission accuses the Myanmar military of engaging in “systematic and widespread violations and abuses of human rights”, and of displaying a “flagrant disregard for human life”.
Some of these violations “could be assimilated to war crimes and crimes against humanity”, estimates the UN, which has a habit of leaving it to the courts to decide.
“We have really been able to identify the existence of a modus operandi over the past year, which shows that these are systematic, coordinated and planned attacks, and that there are clear indications that they could be war crimes and crimes against humanity,” said a spokeswoman for the High Commission, Ravina Shamdasani, during the presentation of the report.
She pointed out that before the coup, the High Commission had already “talked about the fact that the Tatmadaw (Myanmar armed forces) had committed crimes against humanity in relation to the treatment of the Rohingyas, a Muslim minority in the country.
“Burnt alive”
More than a year after the February 1, 2021 coup that overthrew civilian government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and ended a 10-year democratic hiatus, Myanmar remains in chaos.
Anti-junta militias have taken up arms against the generals who are stifling the protest in blood, with more than 1,600 civilians killed and 11,000 arrested, according to a local human rights association.
The UN report for its part mentions 1,600 people killed and more than 12,500 arrested. In addition, at least 440,000 others have been displaced and 14 million need urgent humanitarian aid, but the delivery of this assistance remains largely blocked by the army, according to the UN.
Most of the human rights violations documented were committed by the security forces, but at least 543 people were also believed to have been killed for their alleged support of the army, according to the report.
The Office of the High Commissioner accuses the armed forces of bombing inhabited areas and targeting civilians, “many of whom have been shot in the head, burned alive, arbitrarily arrested, tortured or used as human shields”.
It reports “mass killings,” including last July in the Sagaing area, where soldiers killed 40 people in several raids.” »
“Villagers have found the remains of some victims, whose hands and feet were still tied behind their backs,” said the High Commission.
The report is based on interviews with more than 155 people including victims and witnesses, whose accounts have been corroborated by satellite imagery and other sources.