Conflicts & War

UN warns about escalation in Myanmar conflict, forcible recruitment of Rohingya youth

Bangkok, Mar 19 (EFE).- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concern about the escalation of conflict in Myanmar and the forcible recruitment of young people, including Rohingyas, while urging the protection of civilians.

“The Secretary-General remains deeply concerned by the deteriorating situation and escalation of conflict in Myanmar. He condemns all forms of violence and reiterates his call for the protection of civilians,” Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for Guterres, said in a statement released Monday, US time.

The statement said that the “expansion of conflict in Rakhine,” the western state where the mainly Muslim Rohingya minority lives, was “driving displacement and exacerbating pre-existing vulnerabilities and discrimination.”

Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country, does not recognize Rohingyas as citizens.

“The Secretary-General calls on all parties to prevent further incitement of communal tensions. He is alarmed by reports of ongoing airstrikes by the military, including today in Minbya township that reportedly killed and injured many civilians,” the spokesperson said.

He is also concerned “by reports of forcible detention and recruitment of youths, including Rohingya, and the potential impact of forced conscription on human rights and on the social fabric of communities in Myanmar,” Haq added.

The Myanmar military junta, which seized held power in a coup on Feb. 1, 2021, activated the Military Service Law in February.

Under the law, from April, all men between the ages of 18 and 35 years and women between 18 and 27 years can be conscripted into the military for a period of up to two years.

In 2017, the Myanmar military began a violent operation against Rohingyas that caused some 774,000 of them to flee to Bangladesh, a campaign flagged by the UN as ethnic cleansing and an attempt at genocide.

The coup plunged Myanmar into chaos and exacerbated the guerrilla war that the country has been experiencing for decades with the emergence of new anti-junta militias that have posed a challenge for the military, especially in the wake of a joint offensive, code-named “Operation 1027” launched on Oct. 27 in northeastern Myanmar that spread across the country within weeks. EFE

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