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Malay Mail
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
With peace plan faltering, Asean calls two meetings on Myanmar conflict next week
JAKARTA, May 21 — The South-east Asian grouping Asean will hold two meetings specifically on the civil war in army-ruled Myanmar ahead of its summit next week, the bloc's secretary-general said today, in a bid to advance its faltering peace effort. The 10-member Association of South-east Asian Nations has repeatedly called for a halt in hostilities between rebels and the ruling junta that have displaced an estimated 3.5 million people since the military overthrew the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. Asean's peace proposal that same year, the 'Five Point Consensus', which calls for an end to violence and dialogue between warring groups, has made barely any progress, resulting in Myanmar's ruling generals being barred from its summits. 'This is something new that will specifically focus on Myanmar, that they will take no other issue,' Asean Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn told Reuters in an interview, referring to the two meetings in Malaysia on Myanmar. Kao Kim Hourn did not specify the issues up for discussion or if there were new proposals to be made. He said the first meeting would involve the current, previous and next Asean chair nations, namely Malaysia, Laos and Philippines, respectively. The second gathering would be of the bloc's foreign ministers, he said. Once seen as a promising frontier market following a decade of economic reform and tentative democracy, the 2021 coup plunged Myanmar into chaos, with the military struggling to govern and battling to contain a widening rebellion by ethnic minority rebels and a pro-democracy resistance movement. The military has been accused of widespread atrocities, including air strikes on civilian areas, allegations it has rejected as western disinformation. 'We all are too impatient' Asked about the lack of progress on Myanmar, Kao Kim Hourn defended Asean's plan, describing it as 'beautiful', but urged all stakeholders to implement it. 'It will be presumptuous for any party to expect a quick fix to this issue. For us, we stay engaged,' he said. 'But it may take time. You see, the thing is that we all are too impatient.' 'And as long as we bring down, you know, large-scale fighting to a smaller one, as long as we can bring people to the table, that's progress.' He declined to comment on the military launching multiple airstrikes and artillery assaults, as reported by Reuters, despite a ceasefire after a major earthquake in March. Kao Kim Hourn said it was unclear who had violated the ceasefire. He also reiterated Asean countries and China were committed to finalising a protracted code of conduct for the hotly disputed South China Sea by next year, stressing the need to support that effort by maintaining peace. 'What is important for us in this region, number one, is to de-escalate the tensions and to prevent any possible risk of miscalculation, misperception that gives rise to unnecessary tension and maybe conflict,' Kao Kim Hourn said. He also cited good progress towards admitting an 11th member to Asean — East Timor — which he said had fulfilled a number of required criteria. 'More likely, it could take place maybe later this year,' he said. — Reuters
CTV News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
More than 100 killed in jihadi attack in northern Burkina Faso
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — An attack by a jihadi group in northern Burkina Faso killed more than 100 people, mostly soldiers, an aid worker and local residents said Monday. The attack on several locations, including a military base and the long besieged strategic town of Djibo, occurred early Sunday, said an aid worker actively involved in dialogues in Burkina Faso's hard-hit communities. A student from the area said her father was among those killed. Both individuals spoke to The Associated Press on Monday on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisals. A jihadi group aligned with Al-Qaida known as Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin or JNIM, which is active in the Sahel region, claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack. Run by a military junta, the landlocked nation of 23 million has been among the worst hit by the security crisis in Africa's Sahel region, known as the global hot spot for violent extremism. About half of Burkina Faso is outside of government control as a result of the violence that contributed to two coups in 2022. Government security forces have also been accused of extrajudicial killings. The aid worker, as well as Charlie Werb, an independent open-source analyst focusing on the Sahel, recounted how Sunday's attack began simultaneously in different locations at 6 a.m local time on Sunday. 'JNIM fighters attacked eight localities simultaneously to disperse the Burkina Faso air force. The main attack occurred in Djibo, where JNIM fighters first took control of all the town's entry checkpoints before attacking the military camps, particularly the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit's camp,' said the aid worker. Werb, who studied videos posted online, said the attackers spent several hours in the areas without air support from Burkina Faso's military, unlike similar attacks on Djibo in the past, when security forces have successfully repelled the extremists. The latest attack shows JNIM's escalating power and widening reach in Burkina Faso, said Wassim Nasr, a Sahel specialist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center security think tank. 'The fact that Djibo was targeted confirms the extent of JNIM's freedom of movement within Burkina Faso.' Analysts have warned that the junta's strategy of military escalation, including the mass recruitment of civilians into poorly trained militias, has worsened inter-ethnic tensions. ____ McMakin reported from Dakar, Senegal ____ Follow AP's Africa coverage at: Baba Ahmed And Wilson Mcmakin, The Associated Press
