The Dark Times of Myanmar

Translated by Giulia Girardi 

Myanmar is currently dealing with an increasingly dramatic situation. Everything started with the 2021 military coup, that granted power to the country's armed forces. Popular demonstrations aimed at opposing the ongoing cruelty were violently repressed by the military junta. Furthermore, various armed fractions representing the country’s ethnic minorities emerged in opposition to the Burmese military. The fighting was soon turned into a civil war, characterised by severe violations of international law that are further exacerbated by the geopolitical situation.

Consequently, the population finds itself in an increasingly precarious situation, as the number of victims and internally displaced people continues to grow steadily. Moreover, the decisions of the military junta continue to worsen the country's humanitarian and political crisis.

Between the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026, the military junta announced new elections to maintain a facade of international legitimacy. However, the country's political leaders were imprisoned and thus prevented from taking part in the elections. Among them, there was the former State Counsellor of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi. In the meantime, the main opposition parties had been outlawed. Therefore, it is clear that the elections did not satisfy the minimum requirements of a democratic electoral process.

As expected, the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won the elections. The situation, condemned by the international community, further aggravated the ongoing conflict and intensified armed hostilities across Myanmar.

The Humanitarian Crisis: Quantitative Data

Today, the military junta controls part of Myanmar, whereas the rest of the country’s territory remains fragmented among different resistance groups.

The humanitarian impact of the conflict has reached catastrophic levels. According to the latest data provided by the United Nations and non-governmental organisations like Amnesty International, the escalation of the conflict has led to the displacement of nearly four million people within the country. In addition to this, it is estimated that around 16 million people — approximately one-third of Myanmar’s population — will require humanitarian assistance to survive.

Further worsening the alarming situation is that the military junta continues to implement repressive measures that limit freedom and undermine the everyday lives of daily life in Myanmar.

Civil society has been subjected to escalating repression, as freedom of expression has been systematically undermined by censorship, mass surveillance, and restrictions on digital access.

The Impact on the Civilian Population: Women and Children Among the Most Vulnerable Subjects

In an effort to fight the armed groups operating across different regions of the country, the military junta still encourages the perpetuation of airstrikes that — alongside targeting the political opposition — frequently hit civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals and villages. According to Amnesty International, 2025 was the most terrible year of the conflict in terms of children’s death, exemplifying the devastating human cost of a conflict marked by serious crimes.

The crisis is further exacerbated by a critical shortage of healthcare workers, following more than 1900 attacks on medical facilities and the subsequent arrest and persecution of healthcare personnel. Furthermore, a series of major natural disasters affected Myanmar from 2021 onward, including the devastating earthquake of 2025. Although the international community strived to provide assistance, the military junta manipulated humanitarian aids by preventing it from reaching areas outside its control.

The consequences of the war continue to affect people’s daily lives, further worsening the living conditions of the most vulnerable groups — particularly women and girls. As reported by OCHA, there as been a steady increase in forced marriages, human trafficking and sexual violence, trends that have been further aggravated by the country’s economic collapse.

The introduction of mandatory military service in 2024 — later extended to women — further intensified the crisis. Several young people have been left with few viable options: from seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, to hiding themselves to evade conscription, or to joining the armed forces because of the perpetuation of widespread abuses.

Starvation as a Weapon and the Rohingya Crisis

Around 12.4 million people — around one out of four — are experiencing severe food insecurity. Among these, nearly one million people are facing famine-like conditions. More than 400.000 women and children are suffering from acute malnutrition and survive almost entirely on basic foods such as plain rice and porridge. Food rationing is part of the daily life of nearly half of the population, driving many households to consider child labour, early marriage, and prostitutions as among the few remaining means of survival. Moreover, political instability — alongside the country’s fragile geopolitics — has undermined agricultural production, leading to sharp increases in the cost of fuel and fertilisers.

The situation has become particularly difficult to handle in the Rakhine State, also known as Arakan. This is one of the main hub of the political opposition, which now exercises power over fourteen of its seventeen townships. As a response to this, the military junta has imposed a blockade, isolating the region and leaving much of the local population facing famine-like conditions. Today, Rakhine is home to approximately 500.000 internally displaced people, around 20.000 of whom belong to the Rohingya ethnic minority — a Muslim community that has been most severely affected by the crisis.

The Rohingya have long been subjected to severe discriminations and ethnic cleansing campaigns — one of the most enduring scars throughout the history of Myanmar. Furthermore, the enactment of the 1982 Citizenship Law deprived many Rohingya of their citizenship, making them one of the world’s largest stateless populations. As persecutional acts persist, many citizens continue to flee to neighbouring countries, despite being fully aware of the vulnerability and insecurity awaiting them there.

Myanmar — which gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1948 — remained under military dictatorship until 2011, when it appeared to be entering a period of democratic transition. The country is once again being affected by a profound political and humanitarian crisis, as the ongoing conflict continues to exacerbate the suffering of the civilian population and undermine positive prospects aspiring to a better future.

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