The United Nations聽said that nearly 4000 people have been driven out of their homes in聽Myanmar (also known as Burma) in April as the country鈥檚 north is gripped with violence.
In Kachin, the northernmost state in Myanmar, violence has escalated against an ethnic minority, as in the southern state of Rakhine.聽聽
The Kachin are mostly Christian and have fought for greater autonomy in the predominantly Buddhist country since 1961.聽 Since then,聽tensions between the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and government forces have displaced an estimated 120,000 people.
After a ceasefire broke down between the KIO and the military in 2011, the tensions between the military and the rebel group have sporadically flared up.聽聽
鈥淥ur biggest concern is for the safety of civilians 鈥 including pregnant women, the elderly, small children and people with disabilities,鈥 Mark Cutts, the head of the United Nations鈥 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told AFP.聽鈥淲e must ensure that these people are protected.鈥
Meanwhile, a UN Security Council delegation visiting the camps of the besieged Rohingya minority alongside Bangladesh border said they encountered 鈥渙verwhelming鈥 suffering.聽
The delegation heard first-hand experiences of 700,000 Rohingya refugees who have been subjected to violence, rape and arson by Myanmar鈥檚 military since August. 聽
A聽United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees published in March highlighted 鈥渃oncrete and overwhelming information鈥 of serious crimes against ethnic minorities in Myanmar.
The report noted that Myanmar authorities were 鈥渄ismissing reports that serious human rights violations have been committed in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine states鈥.
鈥淭he body of information and materials we are collecting is concrete and overwhelming,鈥 the three experts聽of the fact-finding mission noted.聽鈥淚t points at human rights violations of the most serious kind, in all likelihood amounting to crimes under international law.鈥 聽
[Abridged from .]