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Myanmar
AsiaSoutheast Asia

UN expert says Myanmar military imported US$1 billion in weapons from China, Russia and others since coup

  • The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar said Russian and Chinese jets were frequently used to hit civilian sites
  • Companies in Singapore, India and Thailand have also involved in weapons transfers to the junta

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According to a UN report, US$406 million in weapons and material went to the Myanmar military from Russia and US$267 million from China. File photo: AFP
Reuters
Myanmar’s military has imported at least US$1 billion in arms and other material since it staged a coup in February 2021, a UN expert said on Wednesday in a new report that calls out Russia and China for aiding the junta’s deadly campaign to crush its opposition.

Since the military seized power and jailed democratic leaders, some opponents of military rule have taken up arms, in places joining ethnic minority insurgents, and the military has responded with air strikes and heavy weapons, including in civilian areas.

Russian-made Mi-35 helicopter, MiG-29 fighter jets and Yak-130 light aircraft, and Chinese K-8 jets, have been most frequently used to conduct air strikes that have hit schools, medical facilities, homes and other civilian sites, said the report by Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar.

In a single attack on a village gathering organised by the military’s opponents in Sagaing region on April 11, two bombs dropped from a Yak-130 killed at least 160 people, reportedly including nearly 40 children, the report said.

Myanmar’s military says it is targeting insurgents and after the Sagaing attack said any civilians killed were probably supporters of opponents it calls “terrorists.”

“The good news is we now know who is supplying these arms and the jurisdictions in which they operate,” Andrews said in a statement, calling for UN members to “step up and stop the flow of arms” with a complete ban on the arms transfers to Myanmar’s military, enforcement of existing bans and coordinated sanctions.

The UN expert used trade data to detail transfers of arms and other goods, including raw materials for Myanmar’s domestic arms production, to the military since the coup worth US$406 million from Russia and US$267 million from China, including from state-owned entities in both countries.

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