U.N. Official Condemns Reported Killings Of Civilians In Myanmar

A senior official of the U.N. has condemned the reported killings of at least 35 civilians in Myanmar that took place last Friday. The U.N. official also called for an investigation into the killings that were carried out by Myanmar’s military against opposition activists.

The ruling military has not released an official statement regarding the killings that took place in Mo So village of the Kayah State. State media reported on Sunday that soldiers had fired at and killed an unknown number of “terrorists with weapons.” In a statement from the U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, shared that there were credible reports that the soldiers had forced civilians, including at least one child, from their cars before they were killed and burned. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also condemned the attacks and encouraged the international community to end the “reoccurrence of atrocities” by stopping the sale of arms and dual-use technology to the Myanmar military. According to Reuters, two civilian witnesses and the Karenni Human Rights Group say there were at least 30 people killed last Friday, as an official report has yet to be released. Multiple members of an aid group called Save the Children who had been travelling through the village were among the civilians murdered.

The U.N.’s response to the murders in Myanmar seems a weak effort to prevent this tragedy from taking place again. Secretary Blinken has a more tactical approach regarding barring the sale of weaponry to the Myanmar military. However, to protect the citizens of Myanmar, I might take it one step further and encourage the U.N. or countries like the U.S. or the U.K. to impose restrictions on any country that may try to sell these materials to Myanmar. Additionally, as the Myanmar military overthrew the elected government earlier this year, the U.N. should implement a long-term plan to help the people of Myanmar to re-establish and maintain their democracy.

On February 1^st of this year, the Myanmar military overthrew the elected government of Nobel Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and has been in turmoil since, according to Reuters. Small groups of military opponents have taken up arms within the last year alongside other ethnic minority guerilla groups who have been fighting for the right of self-determination in government for many years. Earlier this month, a few villagers shared that soldiers committed similar military violence in the central Sagaing region, where soldiers rounded up 11 civilians before killing and burning them.

With multiple attacks on record and a likelihood of multiple unreported attacks, the threat that the Myanmar military poses to its civilians is incredibly large. Cutting off weaponry to the military is an effective short-term tactic that can be used to save civilians and show support from the international community. However, as the time following the coup approaches a full year, the U.N. needs to consider more serious plans in terms of putting an end to the violence taking place in Myanmar.