Pope Leo issued an urgent plea for peace in Myanmar on Wednesday (October 5), calling on the international community to provide necessary humanitarian assistance and not to "forget the Burmese people" who are suffering from one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises.

The Pope's appeal shines a spotlight on a nation in freefall, particularly following the February 2021 military coup. Since the military junta ousted the democratically-elected government, the ensuing civil conflict has left thousands dead and forcibly displaced more than three million people.

The United Nations now estimates that over half of Myanmar’s population is in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Pro-democracy forces and ethnic armed groups are engaged in violent clashes with the military junta, which has responded with airstrikes and scorched-earth tactics that have destroyed entire villages, leaving millions without access to food, medicine, or shelter.

A Brutal Prelude: The Rohingya Crisis

While the post-2021 coup has devastated the country, human rights observers note it is an extension of brutal tactics long employed by the same military, most notably against the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.

The dire situation dates back to at least August 2017, when Myanmar’s military launched a systematic campaign of extreme violence in Rakhine State. The operation, which the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar described as being carried out with “genocidal intent,” involved widespread killings, systemic sexual violence, torture, and the wholesale destruction of Rohingya villages.

The atrocities forced a massive exodus. By early 2018, more than 700,000 Rohingya had fled to neighboring Bangladesh, seeking refuge from a campaign of persecution.

BOB Post