Myanmar Has Descended Into Civil War
After SuuKyi's party won a resounding victory against the military-backed opposition in a national election on Feb. 1, the military assumed power. According to a monitoring group reported by the New York Times, the military retaliated against later peaceful pro-democracy marches, killing nearly 600 people. In the months since the coup d'etat, the United States and its allies, particularly Canada and the United Kingdom, have imposed sanctions on the military dictatorship. Meanwhile, Suu Kyi is being held under house arrest and is being tried by the military junta.
Following aviolent military coup in February that killed hundreds of people and arrested government leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi and members of her National League for Democracy party, Burgener had warned of a possible "full-scale civil war" in Myanmar, also known as Burma, for months.
According toReuters, the United Nations' departing special envoy to Myanmar, Swiss diplomat Christine Schraner Burgener, says the country is now in a state of civil conflict as a result of a military coup earlier this year, and the chance to return it to democratic change is "dwindling."
