GENEVA: UN investigators warned on Tuesday that crimes against humanity and war crimes perpetrated by the Myanmar military have “escalated at an alarming rate,” highlighting systematic torture, gang rape, and abuses against children.
The United Nations’ Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) reported that in the past six months, over three million people are estimated to have been forced to flee their homes as conflict intensifies within the country.
“We have gathered substantial evidence demonstrating horrific levels of brutality and inhumanity across Myanmar,” stated IIMM chief Nicholas Koumjian.
“Many crimes have been committed with the intent to punish and instill terror in the civilian population.” In its annual report covering the period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, the IIMM stated that the conflict in Myanmar had “escalated substantially,” with increasing reports of more frequent and brutal crimes throughout the country.
The investigators noted that they had gathered significant evidence of intensified and violent war crimes, including aerial attacks on schools, religious buildings, and hospitals, with no clear military targets. They also reported physical mutilations of detainees, including beheadings and public displays of disfigured and sexually mutilated bodies.
The investigators are examining unlawful imprisonment practices, including arbitrary detention and “manifestly unfair trials” of perceived opponents of the military junta. “Thousands of individuals have been arrested, with many tortured or killed while in detention,” the IIMM reported.
Myanmar’s ruling junta seized power in the February 2021 coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, ending a decade-long experiment with democracy and plunging the Southeast Asian nation into violent turmoil.
The junta is struggling to suppress resistance from both long-established ethnic rebel groups and newer pro-democracy forces.
