MYANMAR/BURMA

In 2025, Burma (Myanmar) remains mired in widespread civil war, marking one of the most severe crises in its modern history. Since the military coup on February 1, 2021, which overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government, the country has been fragmented between the military junta, armed ethnic groups, and pro-democracy forces united under the banner of the National Unity Government (NUG).

The year 2024 was marked by an upsurge in offensives against the junta. Regional coalitions of rebel groups (particularly in Rakhine, Kachin, Chin, and Shan states) have carried out coordinated military campaigns. In several locations, the regular army has suffered major setbacks, losing control of entire towns, border posts, and strategic supply routes.

These successes by the resistance have led to an intensification of repression. The military has resorted to massive aerial bombardments of civilian areas, extrajudicial executions, and the use of medical and educational facilities as military bases. The United Nations estimates that approximately 2.5 million people have been internally displaced since 2021, and humanitarian needs are immense.

Ethnic tensions persist alongside the political conflict. The Rohingya, a stateless Muslim people living in the western part of the country, continue to face persecution. Refugee camps along the Bangladeshi border were attacked in 2024, and many Rohingya are victims of human trafficking, arms trafficking, or are forcibly recruited by armed groups.

The security risk is very high throughout the country. Border areas, particularly those with China, Thailand, India, and Bangladesh, serve as supply routes and transit zones for guerrilla groups, making any foreign presence particularly risky.

The junta reinstated mandatory military service in 2024, including for young women, leading to an increased exodus of young Burmese people to neighboring countries or to rebel militias. In urban areas controlled by the junta, social control has been tightened: curfews, arbitrary arrests, internet blackouts, and digital surveillance are commonplace.

Despite the partial resumption of tourist visas, travel is strongly discouraged. The risk of arrest, kidnapping, or exposure to fighting is too high. Even in major cities such as Yangon and Mandalay, targeted attacks and shootings occur sporadically.

Myanmar has also become a major hub for drug production (methamphetamines, opium), and entire regions are controlled by cartels or criminal groups. This activity fuels corruption and increases the danger to civilians and foreigners.

For NGOs, the risks of violence are real. These risks are linked to social movements as well as internal conflicts. In 2023, two members of the NGO “Save the Children” went missing after being attacked by the Burmese army in Kayah State, in the east of the country, an incident that left 35 people dead. The junta appears to be deliberately targeting NGOs. On February 1, 2023, the same organization saw its offices destroyed by an airstrike. The sensitive issue of the Rohingya also weighs on NGOs, which may be targeted because of the aid they provide to this population.