3 Countries You Didn’t Know were at War – Daisy C
Both the Israeli-Palestine conflict and the war in Ukraine have dominated the media’s headlines but many equally significant crises have gone unnoticed and altogether neglected by the media. In particular, wars in Africa and Asia have been particularly ignored.
This article will briefly introduce you to 3 of the key conflicts that are taking place right now which you may have never even heard of.
Myanmar – the fight between dictatorship and democracy
Myanmar, better known as Burma, gained its independence from England in 1948. However, just 14 years later, it was taken over by the Tatmadaw (the military force in Myanmar) and became a dictatorship. This was until 2011 when the country attempted democracy, with Aung San Suu Kyi as its leader. In 1989, Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest by the Tatmadaw, where she stayed until 2010. Having popularly defended democracy throughout her life and having won the Nobel peace prize in 1991, Suu Kyi became the face of the pro-democracy movement when she came to power in 2015. Nevertheless, she continually failed to address the status of the Rohingya Muslims and Buddhist discrimination towards this minority group continued.
Suu Kyi’s rule was short lived and by 2021, the military Junta had usurped power, claiming that Suu Kyi and her National Unity Government had rigged the election results. Suu Kyi was imprisoned under 33 charges and General Min Aung Hlaing replaced her leadership. Hlaing immediately declared a ‘state of emergency’ and though he has continued to promise fair elections, since 2021, he has kept extending this prospect.
Protests began immediately in the capital with pro-democracy protesters demanding for the restoration of civilian rule and democracy. In March 2021 alone, over 3,500 people were killed. Ethnic minorities such as the Rohingya were particularly persecuted. The protesters have established the National Unity Government and have formed an armed wing, known as the People’s Defence Force. In October 2023, a coalition of three groups in the northern Shan state launched the strongest challange to the Junta’s rule since 2021 with its forces under ‘heavy assault’.
In response to this fierce dictatorship, the USA, UK, Australia and Canada have introduced sanctions on Myanmar, however Russia and China support the Junta, with China remaining to be the country’s biggest source of trade, sending arms, essentials and aircraft. Though the country’s people continue to courageously protest, there seems to be no sign of this great battle ending.
Haiti – an island of suffering
Haiti have an incredibly dark history of international interventions that began after the country gained independence from France in 1804 but then had to spend 40% of their annual income on unjust reparations. In 2010, the country suffered one of the worst ever earthquakes that killed 300,000 people and now, Haiti is experiencing the worst ever famine, with 4.7 million people facing acute hunger.
Though the country has long battled serious problems, since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, gang violence in Haiti has become the ultimate danger. Moise was killed by Columbian mercenaries and replaced with Ariel Henry. However, as Henry was never elected into presidency, his leadership is viewed as illegitimate. This, combined with his decision to double fuel prices and cut the subsidies, resulted in the G9 gang coalition which blockaded the main port and fuel terminal in Haiti in September 2021.
Now, Gangs control half of the country’s territory and most of the capital with over 100 gangs in Port-au-Prince alone. They control major roads and exploit the population, drawing income from water, electricity and public transport. Kidnappings, murder and gang rape continue to soar and as there are no elected representatives, many fear that the gangs will continue to prop up Haiti’s corrupt financial elites.
200,000 have been displaced, 3.3 million lack access to safe water and more than 4,00 people were killed by gang violence in 2023 alone. In March itself, 155,000 people fled their homes (1/6 of the population). Though the UN has proposed to send support, Jimmy Cherizier, leader of the G9 alliance warned that they would ‘fight against them until [their] last breath’. And, in fact, membership into G9 has become so desirable for young men that gangs now have waiting lists for new recruits.
Ecuador – War Incoming?
Ecuador has generally been seen as one of South America’s most peaceful counties but this all changed on 9th January 2024, live news broadcasts on an Ecuadoran TV channel were interrupted by 13 masked men carrying guns and sticks of dynamite. They pointed guns at the employees and made them lie on the floor. This event was one of a series of attacks by Ecuadoran gangs that took place that same day, following the escape of the country’s most feared gang leader, Adolfo Macias.
Causes: 7th January, Macias escaped from the prison complex in Guyaquil (Ecuador’s capital). Macias is the leader of the Los Choneros (the most powerful gang in the country) which has links with Mexico’s Sinolia Cartel. Macias was serving his 34 prison sentence at the time. The day later, 6 jails were rioted, with guards being taken hostage and threatened with death.
On the day of the attacks, kidnappings and explosions, 10 people were killed, school and ships were closed and people fled to their homes. The newly appointed president, Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency, announced ‘we are not going to negotiate with terrorists’ and decreed that 22 gangs in Ecuador were now classified terrorist groups.
At least 19 people have been killed so far, the country has declared an ‘internal armed conflict’ and the wanted murderer, robber and drug trafficker Macias has yet to be found. The government is hunting him down with a police force of 3,000 police but in the mist of the chaos, the second largest gang, Los Lobos has rioted, kidnapping 178 civilians.
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