UN rights boss sees Syria echoes in Myanmar conflict

This photo taken and received courtesy of an anonymous source on April 13, 2021 shows protesters carrying fireworks while taking part in a demonstration against the military coup in Mandalay during the Myanmar New Year festival of Thingyan. (AFP)

GENEVA: The United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday it fears that the military clampdown on protests in Myanmar since the Feb. 1 coup risks escalating into a civil conflict like that seen in Syria and appealed for a halt to the “slaughter.”
UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet said in a statement 3,080 had been detained and there are reports that 23 people have been sentenced to death following secret trials.
“I fear the situation in Myanmar is heading toward a full-blown conflict. States must not allow the deadly mistakes of the past in Syria and elsewhere to be repeated,” Bachelet said.