A human rights group says some of the actions taken by the Myanmar military are tantamount to war crimes.
The myanmar military kidnapped civilians and forced them to work as human shields, attacked homes, churches and carried out massacres, according to a report that warns recent atrocities in eastern Myanmar may amount to war crimes.
The military has faced strong resistance in Karenni state, and has responded with brutal violence in an attempt to crush opposition.
The report includes claims that the army used civilians as human shields and as forced porters – allegations which have also been reported elsewhere in the country, including in Chin state.
An 18-year-old student from Moe Bye township, located on the border between Karenni and Shan states, told interviewers that he was taken, along with his uncle and two other men, in early June 2021 and used as a human shield in clashes between the military and the local armed resistance. The group escaped after having been detained for four days, during which time they were tied up, blindfolded and tortured, the student said.
Another man added in an interview that he and nine others had been abducted by the army and forced to carry military equipment.
The Myanmar army also killed and burned 40 civilians, including a child, during a program near the village of Moso. Many international organizations have expressed their concerns about this.
It is estimated that more than half of Myanmar’s population has been displaced since the military took control of the country. The United Nations estimates that 91,9000 people have fled their homes.
However, the chairman of the Karenni Human Rights Organization said that Myanmar’s people will face food shortages in the coming months due to the escalation of violence in the country and that they are worried about this.
The Forty Rights Human Rights Group says the United Nations has expressed concern about Myanmar but has not taken any effective action. The Association of Asian Nations has also said it has failed to stop the violence in the country.
Ismail Wolf, regional director of Forty Rights, says the United Nations should immediately impose global arms sanctions on Myanmar to stop it from killing people with globally supplied weapons. He said Asians should support the move.
Heshani Karunaratne