Myanmar's growing illicit economy has become a primary engine of the country's civil war, according to UN Special Rapporteur Kelley Anne Eckels-Currie, who described the human rights situation as "catastrophic" at a press briefing on 29 October 2026. Her new report found that at least 8,384 civilians have been killed by the military since the coup of February 2021, up until 15 September 2026.
As the formal economy contracts under the pressures of war and economic mismanagement, criminal activity—including online scam centres, illegal mining, human trafficking, and forced labour—has increasingly filled the gap, Ms. Eckels-Currie explained. Black market profits are helping to finance the military's weapons purchases, including from China and Russia, and sustain loyalty within the junta's ranks. Chinese transnational criminal networks, she said, provide the "backbone" of most criminal enterprises operating in Myanmar, using cryptocurrency platforms such as Tether and social media including TikTok, Meta, and X to facilitate their operations. Corruption in neighbouring countries is enabling cross-border trafficking, she added.
The report also highlighted the difficulty of disrupting these networks without harming civilians. Efforts to cut off Starlink internet access to scam centres, for instance, have also left humanitarian organisations and local communities without vital connectivity.
Despite the military launching a so-called "100-day peace plan" between 20 April and 31 July 2026, the situation in Myanmar has only deteriorated. Around 753 civilians were killed during that period, with the Myanmar military and paramilitary forces responsible for 89 per cent of those deaths. The military continues to target civilian infrastructure—including schools, healthcare facilities, religious buildings, markets, and displacement camps—using airstrikes and artillery.
"These are not accidents… This is intentional infliction of harm on civilian populations for the purpose of terrorising them and trying to force them into submission," Ms. Eckels-Currie told journalists.
The military's broader strategy is rooted in what the Special Rapporteur identified as the "Four Cuts" doctrine: severing food, resources, humanitarian access, and support networks from areas resisting the regime. Telecommunications blackouts, movement restrictions, and checkpoints are used to obstruct the delivery of food, medicine, fuel, and other essential supplies to displaced communities. Aid workers face harassment, arbitrary detention, torture, and killings. In July 2026, three humanitarian workers were reportedly tortured and killed in the southeastern city of Dawei.
This article is based on a primary source and has undergone editorial review prior to publication.
