New York: Myanmar’s military junta is blocking desperately needed humanitarian aid from reaching millions of displaced people and others at risk, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.
According to HRW, The United Nations (UN), the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and concerned governments should press the State Administration Council (SAC) junta to urgently allow aid to reach all those in need.
In recent months, the junta and its security forces have imposed new travel restrictions on humanitarian workers, blocked access roads and aid convoys, destroyed non-military supplies, attacked aid workers, and shut down telecommunications services.
The February 1 military coup also triggered widespread infrastructure collapse and a severe devaluation of the Myanmar currency, leading to increasingly dire banking and supply chain crises and shortages of food, medicine, and other essentials.
"Myanmar’s junta has worsened a self-created humanitarian catastrophe by displacing hundreds of thousands of people and then blocking the critical support they need to survive," said Shayna Bauchner, HRW's Asia researcher in a statement on Monday.
"The generals are callously denying lifesaving assistance to people affected by conflict since the military takeover, seemingly as a form of punishment," Bauchner added.
Since the coup, the junta has carried out a nationwide crackdown on anti-junta protesters and the political opposition.
Furthermore, fighting in some ethnic minority areas has expanded.
The crisis has displaced over 284,000 people with an estimated 22,000 refugees fleeing to India and Thailand.
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