Myanmar Pro-Democracy Rebels Condemn Junta’s Airstrikes; In Tokyo, NUG Officials Decry Civilian Deaths

By Nobuo Ishizaki / Japan News Staff Writer

16:55 JST, February 6, 2025

Four years after the military coup in Myanmar, high officials of a pro-democracy rebel organization condemned the military junta’s intensive airstrikes on civilians at a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday. They called on Japan and other countries to provide more support, especially for vulnerable people such as women and children.

“[The military is] committing war crimes and killing the innocent civilians, including children,” said Shwe Shwe Sein Latt, an advisory board member of the women, youth and children affairs ministry of the National Unity Government (NUG), an organization that sees itself as the country’s legitimate government, at the press conference held at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.

Civilian casualties continue to rise, with 6,260 civilians having been verified as killed since the February 2021 coup as of Wednesday, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a human rights group in Myanmar. The NUG said that the number of internally displaced persons has reached about 3.6 million.

Shwe Shwe Sein Latt said that the military has been intensifying airstrikes as it has been losing areas under its control on the ground. Since the coup took place, the number of airstrikes has continued to increase, exceeding 1,000 in 2024. Targets have included hospitals and temporary schools, exposing children to harm.

Fuel from Russia, China suspected

She said that the military apparently bought fuel from countries such as Russia and China, and she called for the international community “to stop selling fuel and weapons” to the Myanmar authorities.

The Myanmar junta has said it plans to hold elections this year, but Naw Hla Hla Soe, the NUG’s minister for women, youth and children affairs, questioned the legitimacy of the votes under a situation in which fighting continues, saying, “We are not accepting this election.”

Regarding the possibility of resolving the situation through dialogue with the junta, the minister said, “We’re always open,” although she added that the NUG has a precondition for such dialogue — that the military “stop killing the civilians.”

Hopes for Japan to aid refugees

The NUG’s ministry is providing vocational training for women and youth, and the minister said, “We would like to work with the Japanese government in the future.”

She is also concerned about the situation at refugee camps. Some camps on the border between Myanmar and Thailand have been supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), but the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is now seeking to dismantle the agency. She said she hopes for more support from Japan for assisting refugees.