Myanmar’s conflict is dividing South-East Asia

AHEAD OF THE Buddhist new year in Myanmar last month, a few hundred locals congregated one morning in Pa Zi Gyi village in Sagaing region, in the country’s Buddhist heartland. It was supposed to be a happy event to mark the opening of a new office of the dissident national unity government, which opposes the military junta that seized power in early 2021. The new administrative centre promised to bring a semblance of normality to the war-torn country: taxes would be processed and town meetings held. Then a fighter jet screamed overhead, dropping bombs. A helicopter fired rockets. At least 100 people were killed, including 40 children. Another day’s work by the vicious junta of General Min Aung Hlaing.