UN Investigations Find Increased War And Humanitarian Crimes By Myanmar Military

Illustration of the anti-coup military demonstration of Myanmar. (Wikimedia Commons/Maung Sun)

JAKARTA - War crimes carried out by the Myanmar military, including bombings of civilians, have increased, the United Nations (UN) investigative team said in a report published on Tuesday.

A report from the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), covering the period between July 2022 and June 2023, said there was "strong evidence that the Myanmar military and its affiliated militias have committed three types of war crimes related to combat, with increasingly frequentist and inhumane frequency".

These crimes include targeting civilians indiscriminately or disproportionately, by using bombs and burning of homes and civilian buildings, which sometimes result in the destruction of entire villages, the report said.

The report also cited "the killing of civilians or combatants detained during the operation".

"Our evidence shows a dramatic increase in war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country, with widespread and systematic attacks on civilians, and we are currently compiling case files that the court can use to hold the perpetrators accountable," said Nicholas Koumjian, head of IIMM.

Since the junta seized power two years ago, Myanmar has fallen into chaos, with resistance moves against the military in various fields, after a bloody crackdown on its opponents that saw Western countries reimpose sanctions.

Meanwhile, a junta spokesman could not be reached for comment on the findings made by UN investigators.

Earlier, the military junta had denied the atrocities that had taken place, saying it was carrying out a legitimate campaign against terrorists.

While it has justified bombings as an attack on military targets, UN investigators say Myanmar's military "should have known or indeed knew", a large number of civilians were inside or around the targets alleged when the attack occurred.