Myanmar’s anti-coup forces say they are moving closer to defeating the generals who seized power in a coup three years ago, spurred by the successes of a major offensive that began in late October.

In an online forum, acting NUG President Duwa Lashi La said from an undisclosed location in Myanmar that anti-coup forces have been fighting since the start of Operation 1027, launched late last year by an alliance of ethnic armed groups. Resistance fighters had made “astonishing progress”.

“After three years, the Spring Revolution is stronger than ever,” Duwa Lashi La said on Tuesday. “Every day we get closer to victory. The criminal military will never crush the will of the people.”

The NUG includes elected politicians who were deposed in the coup in February 2021 and founded the so-called Peoples’ Defense Force (PDF). Civiliansafter the military responded with brutal force to peaceful protests against its takeover.

Duwa Lashi La added that the military was facing increasing desertion rates, which was a “deep humiliation for the junta.”

As anti-coup forces advance in several areas of the country and take control of military outposts and several cities, the generals face their biggest challenge since they toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking a mass opposition movement.

The military claims those fighting it are “terrorists,” while reports of military abuses, casualties and desertions are “fake news” designed to “discredit” the military.

At least 4,468 civilians have been killed since the coup and nearly 20,000 people are being detained for political reasons, according to the local monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

The United Nations and human rights groups have accused the generals of serious human rights violations, including crimes against humanity, in their crackdown on the opposition.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said the country’s human rights crisis was now in “free fall” as the military “routinely” targeted civilians, medical facilities and schools. The world, he added, was “not paying enough attention” to the situation.

“With all the crises in the world, it is important that no one is forgotten,” Turk said in a statement on Tuesday. “The people of Myanmar have suffered for too long. As the military suffered one setback after another on the battlefield, it lashed out, launching waves of indiscriminate airstrikes and artillery strikes.”

Entire villagers were burned to the ground and aerial attacks, in which the military has overwhelming superiority, have increased.

“Where the dictatorship ends”

On Wednesday, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, among others, called on the international community to take additional steps to end the military’s access to jet fuel.

“Concerned governments should do more to curb the junta’s ability to commit horrific martial law violations,” Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “United Nations member countries should urge the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Myanmar, including sanctions on jet fuel that facilitates unlawful airstrikes on civilians.”

Amnesty said an analysis of shipping satellite, trade and customs data from 2023 suggested there were “significant changes” in the way aviation fuel entered Myanmar last year, after the European Union said United Kingdom, the United States and others had imposed sanctions.

The military was involved in several sales and used middlemen and storage units, including in Vietnam, to conceal the origin and destination of the fuel, it said.

“After the international community took action against this deadly supply chain, the Myanmar military is resorting to sanctions circumvention and continues to import jet fuel,” Montse Ferrer, deputy regional director for research at Amnesty, said in a statement.

“Airstrikes killed or injured hundreds of civilians across Myanmar in 2023, leaving many feeling that nowhere was safe. The best way to stop the Myanmar military from carrying out deadly airstrikes is to stop all jet fuel imports into the country.”

There are also growing calls for the international community to make greater efforts to hold the military leadership accountable for its abuses.

“Since the coup of February 1, 2021, the junta military has been killing unarmed civilians, razing villages, destroying religious structures and arresting activists, journalists and politicians with impunity. “In the aftermath of Operation 1027, innocent civilians continued to be targeted and killed and entire communities displaced across Myanmar,” John Quinley III, director of Fortify Rights, said in a statement calling on the international community to take “concrete action.” to take action to hold the generals accountable.

Quinley said International Criminal Court (ICC) member states should ask the court to investigate the military’s alleged crimes in Myanmar. Although the country is not part of the International Criminal Court, the NUG submitted a declaration to the court in 2021 recognizing its jurisdiction.

“Without appropriate intervention from the international community, the Myanmar junta’s well-oiled killing machine will continue unabated,” he said.

Duwa Lashi La of the NUG also called for accountability and recognition of the NUG by governments.

Any attempts by the military to negotiate should also be viewed with caution, he added.

“The military has no place in our politics,” said Duwa Lashi La. “It must be permanently subjected to a civilian government.” Now the dictatorship ends.”