Myanmar: Attacks on civilians continue even as earthquakes deepen humanitarian crisis

By SDK, 2 May, 2025

United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk called Friday on Myanmar's military to end all attacks on civilians and civilian objects. He said the unremitting violence against civilians, despite a ceasefire declared after the March earthquakes, underscores the need for the parties to the conflict to commit to and implement a genuine and lasting nationwide cessation of hostilities and a return to civilian rule.

More than a month after two powerful earthquakes - and numerous aftershocks - struck Myanmar on March 28, millions of people are still facing the devastating consequences and are in urgent need of scaled-up relief.

In a statement on Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that amid so many crises around the world, "the unbearable suffering of the people of Myanmar cannot be forgotten."

Despite huge needs, the humanitarian emergency in the country remains one of the most neglected in the world. The situation in Myanmar hardly receives the international attention it deserves, despite being one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.

“The unremitting violence inflicted on civilians, despite a ceasefire nominally declared in the wake of the devastating earthquake on 28 March, underscores the need for the parties to commit to - and implement - a genuine and permanent nationwide halt to hostilities and return to civilian rule,” Türk said.

He added that it was "imperative" that the military immediately cease all attacks on civilians and civilian objects.

Since the earthquakes and as of April 29, the Myanmar military has reportedly carried out at least 243 attacks, including 171 airstrikes, reportedly killing more than 200 civilians.

Türk said the vast majority of attacks occurred after April 2, when the Myanmar military and the National Unity Government (NUG) announced unilateral ceasefires. The military later renewed its largely unobserved ceasefire, which then expired on April 30.

“The relentless attacks affect a population already heavily beleaguered and exhausted by years of conflict,” he said, noting that this was compounded by the recent terrible earthquakes.

Myanmar has been in the grip of a brutal civil war since a military coup more than four years ago. Armed conflict between the Myanmar Armed Forces and various non-state armed groups continues to endanger civilian lives, with clashes, shelling, airstrikes and drone attacks causing civilian casualties in several states and regions and large-scale displacement.

By the end of 2024, armed conflict had displaced more than 3.5 million people from their homes, an all-time high and a staggering increase of nearly 1.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) from 2023. Some 1.2 million refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar were hosted by neighboring countries, including some 149,000 new arrivals since February 1, 2021.

On Friday, the High Commissioner stressed that international law is clear that humanitarian assistance must be able to reach those in need without obstruction.

“People in Myanmar need food, water, and shelter. They need - and must have - peace and protection. This is the time to put people first, to prioritize their human rights and humanitarian needs, and to achieve a peaceful resolution to this crisis,” he said.

The statement came about a month after two devastating earthquakes struck Myanmar, leaving more than 6 million people struggling to cope with the aftermath. The powerful earthquakes - measuring 7.7 and 6.2 on the Richter scale - struck on March 28, reducing homes, hospitals, schools and vital infrastructure to rubble.

The devastating earthquakes, epicentered in Sagaing Region in central Myanmar, have killed at least 3,835 people, injured 5,105 and displaced some 200,000, while 105 people remain missing as of May 1. Although more than 5,000 people have been reported injured, the actual number is estimated to be much higher.

Five weeks on, central Myanmar continues to experience almost daily seismic activity. More than 160 aftershocks have been recorded since the devastating earthquakes.

6.3 million people - including nearly 2 million children - are now in urgent need of assistance and protection in the worst-affected areas, more than two-thirds of whom were already in a dire humanitarian situation before the earthquakes due to ongoing conflict, climate-related disasters, displacement and economic decline.

Before the earthquakes, Myanmar already had the fifth-highest number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in the world - nearly 20 million, or about a third of the country, including 6.5 million children. The total number of people who require humanitarian aid has now risen to an estimated 22 million.

Briefing journalists in New York on Thursday, Marcoluigi Corsi, the Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim for Myanmar, said countless people are still seeking shelter in the open because their homes have been destroyed or are no longer safe to return to.

“Over 55,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed. This is forcing families to live in makeshift shelters and tents. Now we have early rains that have arrived and temperatures rising, so those people that have been displaced are facing increasingly very difficult conditions and protection risks,” Corsi said.

“The earthquakes have exacerbated the suffering of people who have been facing immense humanitarian needs since 2021.”

The Humanitarian Coordinator added that humanitarian efforts are underway, but there is an urgent need to scale up assistance.

“The UN and NGOs are working very closely in partnership with the local partners and have mobilized rapidly to respond,” he said.

“Since the earthquakes, at least 600,000 people have been reached with water, sanitation and hygiene support, nearly half a million people have received food assistance, and more than 100,000 people have received emergency shelter and essential household items.”

Corsi said that despite the unilateral announcement of temporary ceasefires, airstrikes, including in earthquake-affected areas, are disrupting relief efforts and putting aid workers as well as civilians at greater risk.

“While we have made significant progress over the past month, more resources and sustained access are critical to this phase where we are really scaling up the response to reach as many people as possible which are in need,” he said.

The humanitarian response in Myanmar has been chronically underfunded for years. To date, the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP), which covers the entire country, is less than 8 percent funded.

The Flash Supplement to the HNRP, issued two weeks after the earthquakes hit Myanmar, essentially covers the areas affected by the earthquakes and asked for $275 million, but only $34 million, or 12 percent, has been received so far.

“Timely action is essential to prevent Myanmar’s already severe humanitarian crisis from getting even worse. Lives depend on our collective commitment to delivering the support that is desperately needed,” Corsi said.

Further Information

Full text: Türk warns of unremitting violence against civilians in Myanmar, statement by theUN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, published May 2, 2025
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/05/turk-warns-unremitting-violence-against-civilians-myanmar

Full text: UN official calls for swift action as earthquake deepens Myanmar’s humanitarian crisis, Remarks by Marcoluigi Corsi, Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. for Myanmar, delivered May 1, 2025
https://www.unocha.org/news/un-official-calls-swift-action-earthquake-deepens-myanmars-humanitarian-crisis

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