On Monday, the head of the UN’s refugee agency lamented that Myanmar’s civil war was “dramatically worsening,” largely due to the “brutal crackdown” by the ruling junta. He urged neighbouring Bangladesh — which, since 2017, has accepted more than one million Rohingya from Myanmar — to once again protect those fleeing violence.
After a series of successful co-ordinated attacks, rebels now control between one-half to two-thirds of the country. Resistance forces have seen their own recruitment tick up of late, likely due to a sweeping February conscription order by the junta that can force anyone aged 18 to 35 into its ranks.
The civil war, sparked by a 2021 coup overthrowing the democratically elected government, has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than three million.
‘We cannot turn away’: Rae
Most governments and media outlets are seized by the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars. But in an interview this week with The Canadian Press, Bob Rae, Canada’s former special envoy to Myanmar, said that “we cannot turn away” from Myanmar, especially the ongoing crisis facing Rohingya in the country.
In 2018, after a report from Rae, Ottawa unveiled a strategy to assist Rohingya fleeing Myanmar. The strategy’s second phase wound down on March 31, with no mention of fresh funding in the federal government’s April budget. Rae, now Canada’s ambassador to the UN, said, however, that work on a third phase is ongoing.
