UN Human Rights Chief warns Myanmar at brink of civil war as discontent with Army rises

Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has warned that Myanmar might descend into civil war as the civilian population grows increasingly dissatisfied in the aftermath of the country's military coup on February 1.

According to VOA, Bachelet's report is being debated in the UN Human Rights Council as part of a special interactive dialogue on Myanmar. According to Bachelet, what began as a military coup in Myanmar has quickly devolved into an attack on the civilian population.

Myanmar's transitional democracy derailed by military

Myanmar's budding democracy has been derailed for more than five months by the country's military leaders. Since the February military coup in Myanmar, which deposed the democratically elected government led by civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and arrested other important lawmakers, security forces have killed hundreds of civilians.

According to President Bachelet, approximately 900 people have been killed and 200,000 people have been displaced as a result of increasingly violent military attacks on communities and villages. She worries that the widespread and systematic attacks on people risk escalating into a wider civil conflict. According to VOA, she claims that despair is on the rise.

"Some people, in many parts of Myanmar, have taken up arms and formed self-protection groups. These newly formed armed opposition groups have launched attacks in several locations, to which the security forces have responded with disproportionate force. I am concerned that escalation in violence could have horrific consequences for civilians," she stated.

Myanmar's political crisis, according to the High Commissioner, has turned into a multi-faceted human rights disaster. This, she claimed, is bringing incalculable pain to the populace and jeopardising the country's long-term growth possibilities.

According to VOA, Bachelet is urging the world community to put pressure on Chile's military to cease attacking its people and return the country to democracy.

"ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus is an important starting point for the way forward, but I urge swift action to advance this process before the human rights situation in the country deteriorates further. This should be reinforced by Security Council action. I urge all states to act immediately to give effect to the General Assembly's call to prevent the flow of arms into Myanmar," Bachelet stated.