The opposition claims to be growing stronger and reclaiming territory from the military three years after the coup of 2021.
Motivated by the triumphs of a significant offensive that commenced at the end of October, Myanmar's anti-coup forces assert that they are getting closer to defeating the generals who took over the country in a coup three years prior.
Speaking at an internet forum from an undisclosed location within Myanmar, NUG Acting President Duwa Lashi La stated that since the beginning of Operation 1027, which was initiated late last year by a coalition of resistance fighters and ethnic armed organizations, anti-coup forces have made "stunning gains."
Duwa Lashi La declared on Tuesday that "the Spring Revolution is stronger than ever, after three years." "We are getting closer to winning with every day that goes by. The people's will will never be subdued by the criminal military.
In February 2021, the military brutally suppressed peaceful protests against its attempt to seize power, leading to the establishment of the People's Defence Force (PDF) by civilians. Elected politicians who were part of this coup are now part of the NUG.
The military was experiencing a rising incidence of desertion, according to Duwa Lashi La, which was a "deep humiliation for the junta."
Since toppling Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government and sparking a widespread opposition movement, the generals are facing their greatest struggle yet as anti-coup forces spread throughout the nation, seizing control of military outposts and numerous towns.
The military has declared that anybody who opposes them is a "terrorist," and that information about military atrocities, casualties, and desertions is "fake news" meant to "discredit" the armed forces.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a local monitoring group, at least 4,468 civilians have been killed since the coup and almost 20,000 individuals are being detained on political grounds.
The generals have been charged by the UN and human rights organizations with grave violations of human rights, including crimes against humanity during their crackdown on the opposition.
The country's human rights situation, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, is currently in "free fall," with the military "routinely" attacking civilians, hospitals, and educational institutions. He went on, saying that "insufficient attention" was being paid to the problem by the globe.
"Nobody must be overlooked amidst the numerous global crises," Turk stated in a statement on Tuesday. "Too long have the people of Myanmar suffered. The military has retaliated by firing waves of indiscriminate aircraft bombardments and artillery attacks as they have experienced defeat after setbacks on the battlefield.
The military's overwhelming advantage in the air has led to the burning of entire villages, and the intensity of air strikes has increased.
"Where the Dictatorship Ends"
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International were among those urging the world community to take more action on Wednesday to deny the military access to aircraft fuel.
Human Rights Watch's Asia director, Elaine Pearson, said in a statement that "concerned governments should be doing more to curb the junta's capacity to commit appalling laws of war violations." "Member nations of the United Nations should press the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on jet fuel that facilitates unlawful air attacks on civilians as well as an arms embargo on Myanmar."
According to Amnesty International, an examination of 2023 shipping satellite, trade, and customs data revealed "significant changes" in the manner in which aviation fuel was entering Myanmar in the year following the imposition of sanctions by the US, UK, EU, and other countries.
It further stated that to conceal the fuel's origin and destination, the military was involved in several sales and used middlemen and storage facilities, notably in Vietnam.
The deputy regional director for research at Amnesty International, Montse Ferrer, said in a statement that "the Myanmar military is ripping a page out of the sanctions evasion playbook to continue importing jet fuel after the international community took action on this deadly supply chain."
"Hundreds of people have been killed or maimed by airstrikes in Myanmar in 2023, and many of them feel unsafe everywhere they go. The greatest strategy to prevent deadly airstrikes by the Myanmar military is to completely ban jet fuel imports into the nation.
Additionally, there are increasing demands for the international community to do more to hold the military leadership responsible for its wrongdoing.
"The junta military has been killing unarmed citizens, demolishing towns, wrecking places of worship, and detaining activists, journalists, and politicians with impunity since the coup on February 1, 2021. Following Operation 1027, it has persisted in attacking and murdering defenseless civilians while uprooting whole villages throughout Myanmar, according to a statement released by Fortify Rights director John Quinley III, who pleaded with the international community to take "concrete action" to hold the generals accountable.
Quinley stated that nations who are parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC) ought to ask the court to look into the alleged crimes committed in Myanmar by the military. The NUG filed a statement with the court in 2021 acknowledging its jurisdiction, although the nation is not a member of the ICC.
He declared, "The well-oiled killing machine that is the Myanmar junta will continue unabated without adequate intervention by the international community."
In addition, Duwa Lashi La of the NUG demanded that governments acknowledge the NUG and hold them accountable.
He went on, "The military should exercise caution in any attempt at negotiation."
Duwa Lashi La said, "The military has no place in our politics." It has to be rendered permanently obedient to a civilian administration. This marks the end of the dictatorship.