Myanmar regime to let 'loyal' civilians carry licensed arms

Naypyidaw: Military-ruled Myanmar is set to allow civilians “loyal to the state” to apply for licences to carry firearms, according to media reports and an unverified government document. The development came almost two years after the Myanmar military’s coup and at a time when the regime is facing ever-growing resistance nationwide from People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) and ethnic armed organizations. Pro-junta militias and security organizations will be allowed to hold pistols, rifles and automatic weapons with permits issued by the regime’s home affairs ministry, according to a media report. Experts worry that allowing civilians to carry guns would empower pro-junta groups and only serve to escalate the violence and near-daily clashes between the military and armed resistance forces that have raged nationwide. The conditions that figured in the document included an age threshold of 18 years and a demonstrable need for a gun for security purposes, in addition to the loyalty requirement. The Southeast Asian country’s top generals led a putsch in February 2021 after five years of tense power-sharing under a quasi-civilian political system created by the military. US based conflict monitoring group Acled says about 19,000 people died last year as the military’s crackdown on protests led many to take up arms against the junta. About 1.2 million people have been displaced in the strife and more than 70,000 have left the country, according to the United Nations, which has accused the military of war crimes and crimes against humanity. With inputs from agencies. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .