Myanmar: Around 10,000 refugees fled to India and Thailand, says UN Special Envoy

About 10,000 refugees have fled Myanmar, seeking safe haven in neighbouring countries of India and Thailand since a coup de’tat jolted the Southeast Asian country in February, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Myanmar has said. Addressing UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday, she stated that there have been “acute displacements” of around 175,000 civilians with some 10,000 refugees fleeing to India and Thailand. Warning that regional effects of the crisis are real, Christine Schraner Burgener told that Myanmar resident suffers from deprivation and have “no hope and live in fear”.

Furthermore, she called for international action and said that in absence of global support, Myanmar civilians are forming people's defence forces. “They use self-made weapons and receive military training from ethnic armed organisations in their resistance grounded on democratic solidarity,” she told the assembly. Burgener pointed out that multiple parts of the country, which had not seen a crisis in decades have become red zones witnessing violent crisis.

In her speech, the UN envoy also called the organization’s attention to Rohingyas, who have been subjected to risky journeys across the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. It is imperative to note that since the latest exodus on 25 August 2017, when violence broke out in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, more than 742,000 Rohingyas have fled Myanmar to seek refuge in Bangladesh.

Nearly 900 killed

The Southeast Asian nation has been hit with gruelling violence after military leader Min Aung Hlaing declared a coup d’état on February 1. Not only have Myanmar’s democratically elected lawmakers including ousted state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi detained but hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives in the “fight for democracy”. According to the rights group AAPP, more than 873 people have been killed, 6231 total arrested,5045 currently detained or sentenced while 1950 people are evading an arrest warrant as of June 18. 

In the latest development, United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), urged all its member states to prevent the “flow of arms” into Myanmar, stopping short of calling for a global embargo. The non-binding resolution, which takes aim at the growing unrest in the country, also demanded Tatmadaw to immediately stop all violence against “peaceful demonstrators”

Image: AP