UN chief 'deeply concerned' by widening Myanmar conflict

NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday he is “deeply concerned” about the widening conflict in Myanmar, sparked by an offensive launched by ethnic minority armed groups last month.

Guterres is “deeply concerned by the expansion of conflict” across a vast swathe of the country that the UN says has displaced more than 200,000 people, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

Fighting has raged since October 27 after the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Arakan Army (AA) launched attacks on the military near the northern border with China.

This week, the AA launched fresh attacks on the military in western Rakhine state, while anti-junta fighters in Kayah state on the Thai border were battling the military near state capital Loikaw.

At least 75 civilians including children have been killed and 94 people wounded in the fighting, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, citing initial reports from the field.