Myanmar’s Kayah State at risk of ‘mass deaths’ from starvation

Myanmar military is fighting ill-armed volunteers, aligned with anti-coup lawmakers, in Kayah State near the Thai border, with locals accusing the army of firing artillery shells that landed near villages. The UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar has warned of “mass deaths” from starvation and disease in the wake of fighting between rebel groups and junta forces in the east of the coup-stricken country. Myanmar has been in chaos and its economy paralysed since the February putsch and a brutal military crackdown on dissent that has killed over 800, according to a local monitoring group. Fighting has flared in several communities – especially in townships that have seen a high death toll at the hands of police – and some locals have formed “defence forces.” Clashes have escalated in Kayah state near the Thai border in recent weeks. Locals have accused the military of firing artillery shells that have landed near villages and the UN estimates around 100,000 people have been displaced.