Myanmar is facing a deepening humanitarian and political crisis marked by military violence, widespread displacement, and international inaction.

Since the military seized power in February 2021, Myanmar has spiraled into a crisis that has fractured national stability and triggered the gravest humanitarian catastrophe in the country’s modern history. This protracted conflict has reshaped Myanmar’s political and social landscape, leaving millions exposed and vulnerable. It also tests the resolve of the international community to respond to layered emergencies where political violence and humanitarian collapse collide.

The turmoil erupted when General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup against the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD). The NLD had secured a resounding victory in the November 2020 elections—results the military claimed were fraudulent, despite the electoral commission finding no credible evidence. With the coup, the military reasserted direct control, abruptly halting the democratic transition that had been tentatively underway since 2011.

Following the coup, the military detained Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and other senior officials, imposing a nationwide state of emergency. Min Aung Hlaing installed a State Administration Council to manage state affairs, a move met with mass public resistance. Citizens flooded the streets, demanding the release of elected leaders and a return to democratic rule.

The junta’s response to these nonviolent protests has been ferocious. Crackdowns have included mass arrests, systematic torture, and extrajudicial killings. According to UN estimates, at least 2,890 people have been killed by military forces or their proxies since the coup, and 767 have been arbitrarily detained—a toll that continues to rise.

But the junta’s brutality has not been confined to urban demonstrators. It has extended deep into ethnic minority regions long embroiled in their own struggles for autonomy. Fierce clashes between the military and ethnic armed groups have escalated across several states, worsening an already dire humanitarian landscape. In Kayah State, near the Thai border, artillery bombardments have driven at least 100,000 people into the forests, one of the most severe displacements in the ongoing conflict.

In response to mounting resistance, the military declared martial law in February 2023 across 37 cities in key conflict zones, including Tanintharyi, Bago, Mon, Karen, Karenni, Magway, Sagaing, and Chin. This declaration effectively granted Min Aung Hlaing and his deputies unchecked judicial power, eliminating civilian oversight and paving the way for even greater abuses. By repeatedly extending the state of emergency, the junta has made clear its reluctance to relinquish control, delaying the promised general election indefinitely. Min Aung Hlaing’s own admission—that only 198 of Myanmar’s 330 townships are “stable and peaceful”—suggests much of the country remains engulfed in violence.

To crush opposition, the military has turned to “scorched earth” tactics—indiscriminate strikes on civilian areas, village burnings, torture, and obstruction of aid. In 2022 and 2023, the military deployed cluster munitions—banned under international law—in Chin State and Shan State. Such weapons cannot distinguish between civilian and military targets, making their use a potential war crime. Amnesty International has documented the presence of cluster bomb remnants matching previously identified munitions. UN investigators have corroborated this, citing video evidence of strikes in populated areas.

The military’s assaults have reached grotesque extremes: beheadings, mass rape of women and children, and execution-style killings of civilians engaged in routine activities, like collecting water or sitting outside their homes. In Rakhine State, combat between the military and the Arakan Army has turned Rohingya villages into death zones. Through aerial and artillery attacks, the military has decimated infrastructure—destroying more than 100,000 homes, 50 religious sites, and 38 schools. These actions not only violate the Geneva Conventions but also meet the threshold for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The humanitarian fallout is staggering. With 3.5 million internally displaced people and 19.9 million—one-third of the population—reliant on aid, the UN has declared the situation a full-scale humanitarian emergency. Restrictions on aid delivery, travel bans, and military blockades have worsened conditions for the 13.3 million people facing acute food insecurity. Official refugee camps house only 15% of the displaced; most endure appalling conditions in makeshift shelters, with inflation soaring to 50% and healthcare systems in collapse. Seasonal floods in mid-2024 further displaced one million people, overwhelming response efforts.

Children face particularly dire threats. Some 6.3 million are in urgent need of assistance, at risk of forced recruitment, sexual violence, and landmine injuries. Since the coup, 709 children have been killed—248 of them in 2024 alone—marking a chilling uptick in violence. In Rakhine, children have died from cluster bomb blasts, with entire generations now facing educational and psychological trauma that may define their futures.

The Rohingya remain especially imperiled. Still stateless and largely denied basic services, they are now trapped between military forces and ethnic insurgents. Nearly 700,000 were forced into Bangladesh during the military’s 2017 crackdown. Since 2024, reports indicate that junta forces have coerced young Rohingya men into military service with threats of reprisals against their families. Thousands have attempted dangerous sea crossings to flee, adding another chapter to their long saga of displacement and despair.

Women, too, are paying a heavy price. They account for 31% of all fatalities, with rape used as a weapon to terrorize communities. In the aftermath, survivors face lasting trauma and stigma. Female refugees are highly vulnerable to trafficking, forced marriage, and sexual exploitation. And people with disabilities or mental health needs are often neglected entirely during evacuations, heightening their risk of abuse and illness. The convergence of war, disaster, and governmental collapse has produced a perfect storm—one that requires global coordination to ensure access to aid and the protection of fundamental human rights.

Yet the international response has remained tepid. While the UN and various governments have called for an arms embargo, divisions among Security Council members have stalled concrete action. In June 2021, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the military takeover and urging an arms ban—but Myanmar’s junta rejected it outright, denouncing it as a collection of “unilateral accusations and false assumptions.” Even within ASEAN, divisions persist. Indonesia and eight other member states demanded the removal of the arms embargo clause from a draft resolution, reaffirming the bloc’s belief that the crisis should be addressed through regional diplomacy.

But Myanmar’s tragedy is too vast for soft diplomacy alone. The country stands on the edge of systemic collapse. Its people face violence, hunger, and displacement on an almost unimaginable scale. The world must move beyond condemnation and deliver meaningful support before the crisis becomes irreversible.