The Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN) and Salween Peace Park (SPP) have called on the international community to increase pressure and impose further sanctions on the junta, as it intensifies targeted attacks on civilians in Mutraw (Hpapun) District of Karen State.
Between April 10 and 16, the junta carried out day-and-night airstrikes on four villages in Mutraw District, killing 4 civilians, injuring 14 others, and destroying homes, clinics, schools, and religious buildings. On April 20, two Karen civil society groups (CSOs) issued a statement calling for increased international action against the junta.
“Our country’s situation is different from that of Iran and Ukraine. The international community often focuses more on those countries because of their economic and geopolitical importance. But we believe Myanmar should also be a priority. We’ve repeatedly called for international attention and support, and we’re doing so again now because we want the world to take notice of these recent incidents,” said Saw Edwrard, media officer of the KPSN.
The statement by the two CSOs highlighted that attacks on civilian areas have not only continued but have intensified since the coup junta leader illegitimately seized the presidency through a sham election.
In this situation, the international community must ramp up pressure on the junta, impose an arms embargo, and restrict its access to aviation fuel, they also warned.
Furthermore, the CSOs stressed that given the junta’s increasingly targeted attacks on civilians, delivering cross-border humanitarian assistance to affected communities is urgent.
Mutraw District is part of the area administered by the Karen National Union (KNU). Since the 2021 coup, clashes between Karen armed groups and resistance forces, and the junta, have continued in the region.
In a statement on April 18, the KNU condemned the junta’s attacks on civilians in KNU-controlled areas, describing them as war crimes. It also urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the international community to take action against the junta instead of remaining silent, warning that silence could be seen as complicity in these acts.
