Myanmar: War crimes escalating ‘substantially,’ UN says

The military junta in Myanmar is increasingly committing war crimes, including torture and sexual violence, in an attempt to suppress opposition, the UN said in a report released on Tuesday.

“We have collected substantial evidence showing horrific levels of brutality and inhumanity across Myanmar,” said Nicholas Koumjian, chief of the UN’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM).

The report, which covers July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, said the conflict had “escalated substantially” and “at an alarming rate.”

Investigators said they found evidence of torture, sexual abuse and abuse against children “with reports of more frequent and brutal crimes committed across the country.”

They cited physical mutilations against detainees, beheadings and public displays of disfigured and sexually mutilated bodies.

Read more: Deutsche Welle