Year of violence has hardened positions in Myanmar: U.N. special envoy

Noeleen Heyzer said around 1,500 civilians have been killed in the past year and the number of internally displaced people rose from more than 3,20,000 at the end of 2021 to over 4,00,000 now.

The new U. N. special envoy for Myanmar said on January 31 that violence and brutality have intensified since the military took power, sparking a resistance movement in the country and all sides have hardened their positions on “using violence as a solution.” Noeleen Heyzer told a virtual news conference at U. N. headquarters in New York that Myanmar’s situation is increasingly unstable and military operations, including artillery attacks and airstrikes, have raised concerns about the protection of civilians.

She said around 1,500 civilians have been killed in the past year and the number of internally displaced people rose from more than 3,20,000 at the end of 2021 to over 4,00,000 now. “This is in addition to the 3,40,000 people already displaced before February 1, 2021,” when the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.