MYANMAR’S escalating conflict, with the worst violence since the military takeover in 2021, is having a devastating impact on human rights, fundamental freedoms and basic needs of millions of people, the United Nations has warned.

Speaking at a security council meeting on Thursday, assistant secretary-general for political affairs Khaled Khiari said that “the civilian toll keeps rising” amid reports of indiscriminate bombing by Myanmar’s armed forces and artillery shelling by various parties.

The nationwide armed conflict began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and brutally cracked down on widespread protests demanding a return to democratic rule.

Thousands of young people fled to jungles and mountains in remote border areas as a result of the military repression and joined up with ethnic guerilla forces.

Despite its great advantage in armaments and manpower, the military has been unable to quell the resistance movement. 

Over the past five months, the army has been routed in the northern state of Shan, is conceding swathes of territory in Rakhine state in the west and faces growing attack elsewhere.

Myanmar’s main pro-democracy resistance group said on Thursday that its armed wing had launched drone attacks on the airport and a military headquarters in the capital Naypyidaw.

The regime claims to have destroyed the drones. It wasn’t possible to independently verify most details of the incident, but the military’s acknowledgement that it had taken place in one of the country’s most heavily guarded locations is significant.

Mr Khiari told the council that the crisis continued to spill over the borders and added that conflicts in key border areas had weakened security. 

The breakdown in the rule of law has enabled illicit economies to thrive, with criminal networks preying on vulnerable people with no livelihoods.

“Myanmar has become a global epicentre of methamphetamine and opium production, along with a rapid expansion of global cyber-scam operations, particularly in border areas,” he said. 

Senior UN humanitarian official Lisa Doughten warned the council that the ongoing escalation had left 12.9 million people, nearly 25 per cent of the population, without enough food.

British UN ambassador Barbara Woodward told the council that this country would “not allow Myanmar to become a forgotten crisis.”

However, her Russian counterpart Vassily Nebenzia objected to the meeting, saying that Myanmar does not threaten international peace and security.

He accused Western nations of supporting armed opposition groups and destabilising the country “for the advancement of their own geopolitical concerns in the region.”