Myanmar junta intensifies persecution and risks state collapse.
“The Myanmar junta’s war against the people of Myanmar” is intensifying, UN special rapporteur Thomas Andrews told the Human Rights Council on Monday. The junta has killed over 1,600 civilians, detained close to 10,000, and displaced over half a million. It has forced nearly a quarter of the 600,000 Rohingya in Rakhine state into de facto internment camps. Use of airstrikes has soared. The junta is bombarding homes, fleeing civilians, and refugee shelters, Andrews reported. He urged the need for international justice mechanisms to investigate and prosecute crimes against humanity and war crimes. He also reported that the healthcare system is collapsing and around 47,000 people in Myanmar may die due to insufficient medical access this year according to the latest WHO estimate. Thirteen million of Myanmar's people are facing hunger, and the country’s economy is wracked by inflation. UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet expressed deep concern for the violations of human rights and the country’s stability.
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