MYANMAR COUNTRY FULL
Read the full analysis in the Global Risk report - March 2021 Key Concerns Military clashes with anti-coup armed resistance forces resulted in large-scale displacement in new regions, mainly in the southeast, where over 140,000 people have remained displaced since May ?. Over 1,000 civilian casualties were reported during protests in the seven months after the coup ?. The anti-coup resistance (including the People’s Defence Force, the Civil Disobedience Movement, and other protesters) was met with military arrests, detentions, and the disproportionate use of violence – particularly in areas where both the People’s Defence Force and ethnic armed groups are active ?. The National Unity Government holds no real control over Myanmar but retains the support of the Civil Disobedience Movement, the anti-coup armed resistance People’s Defence Force (PDF), and several ethnic armed groups. Two competing governments contest governance: the military junta and the opposition shadow National Unity Government formed after the coup ?. The declaration allowed the junta to consolidate power without holding elections ?. Following the military coup on 1 February 2021, the military junta established the State Administrative Council and imposed a year-long state of emergency, later extended until August 2023. The risk of militarisation of the political space and the escalation of violence in Myanmar largely materialised in the past six months. The militarisation of political space and public sphere and escalation of violence by military junta results in greater access constraints, worsening of needs, and heightened protection concerns, particularly for ethnic minority groups Read more in the latest ACAPS Humanitarian Access Overview. In the Kachin and Shan states, the conflict remains active, and access to displacement sites in areas under the control of armed groups remains blocked. New travel authorisations for Rohingya people are limiting their movement, including because of increased checkpoints following a rise in tensions in Rakhine in November. While access to some IDP sites in Rakhine state has improved, others remain inaccessible. Logistical constraints related to the disruption of banking services have reduced cash availability, affecting procurement activities and transportation and resulting in the suspension of cash assistance programmes. COVID-19 containment measures have further reduced people’s access to humanitarian aid and livelihoods. Conflict in the northwest has been worsening, particularly since mid-September, and access to the region is highly restricted. Economic decline and currency depreciation have resulted in heightened prices of essential goods and fuel, as well as increased food insecurity for vulnerable households - including in areas not covered by humanitarian responders.Īccess to conflict-affected areas and areas not controlled by the Government remains complicated by checkpoints, road blockages, and restrictive travel authorisations humanitarians are navigating these challenges mainly through local partners. Access to essential public services, particularly healthcare and education, has continued to be limited since the coup. Humanitarian access in Myanmar has slightly improved in areas previously inaccessible, but it remains highly constrained by increased conflict and political unrest. INFORM measures Myanmar's risk of humanitarian crisis and disaster to be high, at 6.3/10. Access to basic services is limited and livelihoods are threatened by conflict and lack of economic opportunities, particularly for the stateless Rohingya in Rakhine and for IDPs living in non-government controlled areas in northern Shan. Protection is a key concern across Myanmar as armed conflict and violations of international humanitarian law by the Tatmadaw and armed groups continue to affect civilians.
More than 1.6 million IDPs and refugees remain in protracted conflict-led displacement in Chin, Kachin, Rakhine, and Shan states in Myanmar and in Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Thailand. Over 268,000 people have been internally displaced in Myanmar since 1 February. 14.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in 2022.
On 1 February 2021, the Tatmadaw staged a military coup, declaring fraud in the November 2020 multiparty general election won by the National League for Democracy. The ethnically diverse population of Myanmar has been under military rule from 1962 until 2011, and the military has since shared power with the government as per the 2008 constitution.
The humanitarian situation in Myanmar is driven by longstanding localised conflicts in rural areas between Myanmar’s armed forces (the Tatmadaw) and various insurgent groups, including militias and ethnic armed organisations.