Junta blockade on medicine leaves Myanmar’s displaced reeling

Junta restrictions on the transport of medicine in Myanmar’s war-torn regions of Rakhine, Chin and Sagaing in the north and west have led to shortages for displaced civilians dealing with outbreaks of disease, sources told RFA Burmese.

The restrictions are the latest attempt by the junta to keep medical supplies from reaching rebel groups it has been fighting since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup d’etat.

But rights organizations said the transport ban largely hurts civilians who have fled conflict and likened it to a “war crime.”