Myanmar’s military is committing crimes against humanity and war crimes, say legal experts
Facing armed resistance after it seized power [in February], the military, known as the Tatmadaw, has escalated its use of force against civilians using tactics honed during past atrocities. A Washington Post analysis of more than 300 videos and photos, some not previously made public, as well as satellite imagery, eyewitness accounts and military planning documents, reveals a premeditated campaign of arson and killing targeting civilians in Chin state beginning in September.
Military planning documents shared exclusively with The Post show that the attacks were planned as early as June, and that soldiers were authorized to “clear” the region — similar to orders in the 2017 operation against Rohingya Muslims. The documents, supported by visual evidence, implicate commanders in atrocities for the first time since the coup. The military government did not respond to a request for comment.
In Thantlang, The Post found that over the course of three months, the military returned multiple times to raze most of the buildings along the town’s main road. After the shelling and fires in September, soldiers came back the next month, looting abandoned homes, grabbing sacks of rice, cash and liquor. On Oct. 29, they turned to arson, setting homes and churches ablaze, according to eyewitness accounts and visual evidence. [Continue reading…]