What a Coup May Mean for Aid in Myanmar Conflicts

A soldier adjusts his face mask as he sits inside a vehicle in front of a Hindu temple in the downtown area in Yangon, Myanmar, 2 February, 2021. (REUTERS)

Myanmar’s military coup has ushered in new volatility for humanitarian operations in a country where nearly one million people depend on aid in conflict zones.

The country’s powerful military seized control on Monday, declaring a year-long state of emergency and detaining the country’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, along with scores of civilian government officials and prominent civil society members.

Aid groups are scrambling to understand what the coup will mean for humanitarian operations, including some 330,000 people displaced by conflict who rely on assistance to survive.

Several international NGOs suspended or reduced operations, including the International Rescue Committee, CARE, and the Norwegian Refugee Council. Médecins Sans Frontières said it was “carefully evaluating the implications for our medical activities and our staff movements have now been limited”. Another group, Malteser International, said the state of emergency has made humanitarian access “very difficult” and “heavily affected” its work. The Danish Refugee Council said it was "operational" after earlier putting "all humanitarian activities on hold".*

Analysts say the coup has upended an already tense status quo: Aid groups may face more pressure and even stricter access from a military long distrustful of international humanitarian groups.

The UN Security Council was set to meet on Tuesday in an emergency, closed-door meeting amid calls for targeted sanctions and an arms embargo on Myanmar to pressure the military into returning the country to civilian rule.

Click here to read more on some of the key issues affecting aid in Myanmar as the coup’s aftermath unfolds.