On the fourth anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar on February 1st
Osnabrück/Berlin, January 31, 2025 – For exactly four years, a bloody civil war has been raging in Myanmar, largely unnoticed by the German and international public. At least 50,000 people have been killed, and more than three million are refugees.
On February 1, 2021, the military staged a coup against Myanmar's democratically elected government and began a violent crackdown on opposition members, demonstrators, and ethnic minorities. Since then, war has raged across almost the entire country: pro-democracy and ethnic rebel militias are fighting alongside the government-in-exile against the dictatorship. Military government fighter jets relentlessly bomb villages and schools from the air, indiscriminately killing children, women, and the elderly.
Partner organizations of the children's rights organization Terre des Hommes are defying these dangers and helping children and their families in the countless refugee camps along the border between Myanmar and Thailand. "Our partners provide people with essential supplies such as food, medicine, and emergency hygiene kits. Help is especially important for children traumatized by bombings, who receive therapeutic support and, where possible, makeshift schooling," explains Joshua Hofert, spokesperson for the board of Terre des Hommes .
Despite these dire living conditions, hope is growing in the country that the military government will eventually capitulate. Particularly in eastern Myanmar, increasing numbers of people are defecting to the militias fighting in the name of the exiled government. Thayet, a staff member of Terre des Hommes who coordinates projects in Myanmar along the border with Thailand, is certain that in the end, "the people will win." "The pressure from the international community is mounting; human rights organizations everywhere are documenting unlawful attacks, arbitrary detentions, and unfair trials. The majority of international sanctions are halting the flow of weapons, equipment, technology, and kerosene to the military government," she says. “What we need now, for example, is a cross-border humanitarian aid program from the Thai government for refugees and displaced persons, and political action from all ASEAN states against the military dictatorship.” Recently, there was another important boost for civil society – an arrest warrant was issued by the International Criminal Court against dictatorship leader Min Aung Hlaing.
<hr>
More information: https://www.tdh.de/myanmar-buergerkrieg
*The name has been changed. The actual name is known as Terre des Hommes .