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rights expert has warned of "mass deaths from starvation, disease, and exposure" in eastern Myanmar after "brutal, indiscriminate attacks" by the military forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes in Kayah State.
In a statement on Wednesday, Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur for Myanmar, called for urgent international action, saying attacks by the military — which took power after a February coup — were "threatening the lives of many thousands of men, women, and children" in Kayah or Karenni state.
"Let me blunt," Andrews said. "Mass deaths from starvation, disease, and exposure, on a scale we have not yet seen since the February 1 coup, could occur in Kayah State absent immediate action."
The plea came hours after the UN office in Myanmar said the violence in Kayah had displaced an estimated 100,000 people, who were now seeking safety in forests, host communities, and southern parts of neighbouring Shan state.
Those fleeing and those in locations affected by the bombing and artillery fire were in dire need of food, water, shelter, fuel, and access to healthcare, the UN office said in a statement.
"This crisis could push people across international borders seeking safety," it warned, calling for all parties to "take the necessary measures and precautions to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure".