Some 10,000 refugees fled to India, Thailand from Myanmar: UN Special Envoy

 Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Myanmar has warned that the regional threat of the crisis is real

About 10,000 refugees have fled from Myanmar to India and Thailand as nationwide clashes in the country led to “acute” new displacements of hundreds of thousands of civilians, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Myanmar has said, warning that the regional threat of the crisis is real. In my daily contacts with stakeholders in Myanmar, I hear first-hand accounts about the dire situation. People suffer from deprivation, have no hope and live in fear, Christine Schraner Burgener, Special Envoy of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Myanmar, told the UN General Assembly on Friday.

In the absence of international action, civilians are forming people’s defence forces, she said. They use self-made weapons and receive military training from ethnic armed organisations in their resistance grounded on democratic solidarity. Multiple regions of the country which have not seen armed clashes in decades become zones of significant unrest.

Nationwide clashes, including in central Myanmar and regions bordering China, India and Thailand, have led to acute new displacements of around 175,000 civilians, and some 10,000 refugees have fled to India and Thailand. The regional threat of the crisis is real, she said, adding that we must continue to call for maximum restraint and condemn all forms of violence. The risk of a large-scale civil war is real.