Myanmar military committing war crimes on ‘alarming’ scale, UN warns | Conflict News

UN investigators estimate that more than three million people have been forced to flee their homes in the last six months as a result of the escalating conflict in Myanmar.

Crimes against humanity and war crimes by Myanmar's military have increased to an “alarming” extent, United Nations investigators warned.

Systematic torture, gang rape and child abuse have increased under the military government, said a report on Tuesday by the UN body investigating human rights violations in the country.

Investigators said more than three million people have been forced to flee their homes in the past six months as the ongoing conflict has intensified since the 2021 coup.

“We have collected extensive evidence showing horrific levels of brutality and inhumanity across Myanmar,” said Nicholas Koumjian, head of the United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM).

In its annual report, the IIMM said the conflict in Myanmar had “significantly intensified” over the past year and there were “reports of increased and more brutal crimes across the country.”

UN observers uncovered other brutal war crimes, from air strikes on schools, religious buildings and hospitals that are not military targets, to beheadings and the public display of mutilated and sexually mutilated corpses.

Investigators are also looking into the illegal detention of alleged opponents of the military government.

“Thousands of people have been arrested and many tortured or killed in custody,” the IIMM said, adding that there was also evidence of torture in custody.

The report documented torture methods ranging from electric shocks and pulling out prisoners' fingernails with pliers to pouring gasoline on them and setting them on fire, and more.

The IIMM found that crimes – including rape – were committed against all genders, including children.

The military government came to power in a coup in February 2021 that overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, ending the country's decade of democracy.

The government has since been accused of suppressing resistance from ethnic rebel groups and pro-democracy forces against its rule.

The IIMM report, based on 28 million pieces of information from 900 sources, also found evidence of crimes committed by armed groups fighting the military.

Koumjian said the IIMM is preparing criminal proceedings against those primarily responsible.

“No one has been held accountable for any crimes, which emboldens perpetrators and deepens the culture of impunity in the country. We are trying to break this cycle,” he said.