UN Report: Myanmar Junta imported US$1 billion in weapons since 2021 coup

VIENNA: Since the military junta seized power in Myanmar in a coup in early 2021, at least US$1 billion worth of foreign arms and weapons-making material have entered the country, according to a new United Nations report, said German news agency (dpa).

The UN Human Rights Council report by Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews named Russia and China as the largest arms suppliers to the junta.

Since the coup and the removal of de facto prime minister Aung San Suu Kyi from power, the military has ruled Myanmar with an iron fist. Resistance has been suppressed with mass arrests and repeated airstrikes.

In many parts of the country, armed groups are fighting the army.

The report cited exports from Russia (US$406 million), followed by China (US$267 million), Singapore (US$254 million), India (US$51 million) and Thailand (US$28 million).

Andrews accused these countries of "either outright complicity, or lax enforcement of sanctions and bans on weapons and dual-use technology to Myanmar," which was formerly known as Burma.

The report is based on company and trade data as well as "highly credible and detailed information from confidential sources," which remained unnamed for security reasons.

The UN Security Council has not yet imposed any international sanctions to stop these exports. Andrews has called for a total arms embargo and sanctions on Myanmar's state-owned oil and gas company, which the report says is used to fund the arms deals.

-- BERNAMA