Peace prospects look bleak in Myanmar as a civil war rages

BANGKOK (AP) — Peace prospects look bleak in Myanmar as a civil war rages despite international pressure on the military four years after it seized power from an elected civilian government.

The political situation remains tense with no negotiation space in sight between the military government and the major opposition groups fighting against it.

The four years after the army's takeover on Feb. 1, 2021, have created a profound situation of multiple, overlapping crises with nearly half the population in poverty and the economy in disarray, the U.N. Development Program said.

The U.N. Human Rights Office said the military ramped up violence against civilians last year to unprecedented levels, inflicting the heaviest civilian death toll since the army takeover as its grip on power eroded.

The army launched wave after wave of retaliatory airstrikes and artillery shelling on civilians and civilian populated areas, forced thousands of young people into military service, conducted arbitrary arrests and prosecutions, caused mass displacement, and denied access to humanitarians, even in the face of natural disasters, the rights office said in a statement Friday.

“After four years, it is deeply distressing to find that the situation on the ground for civilians is only getting worse by the day,” U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said. “Even as the military’s power wanes, their atrocities and violence have expanded in scope and intensity,” he said, adding that the retaliatory nature of the attacks were designed to control, intimidate, and punish the population.

The United States, United Kingdom, European Union and others criticized the military takeover in a statement that also called for the release of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

They said nearly 20 million people need humanitarian assistance and up to 3.5 million people are displaced internally, an increase of nearly 1 million in the last year. They also expressed concern about increased cross-border crime in Myanmar such as drug and human trafficking and online scam operations, which affect neighboring countries and risk broader instability.

“The current trajectory is not sustainable for Myanmar or the region,” the countries said in the joint statement that also included Australia, Canada, South Korea, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland.

The military's 2021 takeover prompted widespread public protests, whose violent suppression by security forces triggered an armed resistance that has now led to a state of civil war. Ethnic minority militias and people’s defense forces that support Myanmar’s main opposition control large parts of the country, while the military holds much of central Myanmar and big cities including the capital, Naypyidaw.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which keeps detailed tallies of arrests and casualties linked to the repression of the military government, said that at least 6,239 were killed and 28,444 were arrested since the takeover. The actual death toll is likely to be much higher since the group does not generally include deaths on the side of the military government and cannot easily verify cases in remote areas.

Aung Thu Nyein, director of communications for the Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar think tank, told The Associated Press that Myanmar's current situation is at its worst with peace and development being pushed back.

“What’s worse is that the sovereignty which ever-proclaimed by the military is losing, and the country’s borders could even shift,” Aung Thu Nyein said in a text message.

Myanmar’s army suffered unprecedented battlefield defeats over the past year, when a coalition of ethnic armed groups won victories in the northeast near the Chinese border and in the western state of Rakhine.

The ethnic rebels were able to quickly capture several towns, military bases and two important regional commands, and their offensive weakened the army’s grip in other parts of the country.

The ethnic minorities have been fighting for decades for greater autonomy from Myanmar’s central government and are loosely allied with the People’s Defense Force, the pro-democracy armed resistance formed after the army’s 2021 takeover.

The U.N. Human Rights Office and rights groups including Amnesty International also made rare allegations in recent statements that armed groups opposing the military have also committed human rights violations in areas under their control.

In pursuit of a political solution, the military government is pushing for an election, which it has promised to hold this year. Critics say the election would not be free or fair as civil rights have been curtailed and many political opponents imprisoned and the election would be an attempt to normalize military control.

On Friday, the military government extended a state of emergency another six months because it said more time was needed to restore stability before the election, state-run MRTV television reported. No exact date for the polls was given.

Tom Andrews, a special rapporteur working with the U.N. human rights office, said it wasn't possible to hold a legitimate election while arresting, detaining, torturing and executing leaders of the opposition and when it is illegal for journalists or citizens to criticize the military government.

“Governments should dismiss these plans for what they are – a fraud,” Tom Andrews said.

Buddhist monks line up to collect their morning alms from Buddhist devotees Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Buddhist novice monks line up to collect their morning alms from Buddhist devotees Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

FILE - Myanmar military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, left, head of the military council, inspects officers during a parade to commemorate Myanmar's 78th Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, on March 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

FILE - Myanmar military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, head of the military council, inspects officers during a parade to commemorate Myanmar's 78th Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, on March 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

FILE - Myanmar military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, head of the military council, inspects officers during a parade to commemorate Myanmar's 79th Armed Forces Day, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, on March 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Buddhist novice monks shout to collect their morning alms Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A Buddhist monk receives alms from a devotee Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Vendors selling groceries wait for customers at a local market Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

PARIS (AP) — Tennis players at the French Open say they haven’t experienced conditions this hot at Roland Garros since the Paris Olympics.

And the 2024 Olympics were held in July and August.

Temperatures for the opening two days of the clay-court Grand Slam have soared to 33 degrees C (91 F) — far beyond normal for late May in the French capital. And it’s forecast to stay that way for the entire first week.

Besides making it uncomfortable for fans and players alike, the sultry conditions have also created faster conditions on court — changing the pace of the game.

“It is much different. Maybe it was that hot in the Olympics but the balls were different, so I wouldn’t treat it as the same tournament,” four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek said after routing Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-2 in the first round on Monday.

Players have been putting bags of ice around their necks on changeovers to stay cool, while fans are refreshing themselves under sprinklers.

When workers water the clay courts between sets, they have taken to directing their hoses at spectators begging to be doused, too.

“I don’t remember the last time it was so hot at Roland Garros,” Russian-born Australian player Daria Kasatkina said after beating Zeynep Sonmez 6-4, 6-4. “Maybe one day. But we’re going to have it for the whole week.”

Kasatkina said the energy-sapping temperatures made for more up-and-down matches.

“You can suddenly just get out of the bench and feel that your focus dropped,” she said. “So this is a battle which you have to also win. … Whoever adapts better to today’s conditions gets it.”

Canadian player Gabriel Diallo said the heat was the main reason why he retired midway through his match against James Duckworth on Sunday.

Both Andrey Rublev and opponent Ignacio Buse called for the trainer on separate occasions during the second set of their match on Monday.

Buse took a medical timeout and had salts and minerals added to his water bottle as a stethoscope was placed on his chest. Rublev received treatment a few games later.

The French Open is usually cool compared to the heat at the Australian Open and U.S. Open.

But like in Australia and New York, the French Open has adopted an extreme weather policy.

If the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) — which takes into account temperature, humidity, sun, wind and other factors — reaches 30.1 degrees C (86 F) or higher, 10-minute cooling breaks can be installed between the second and third sets for women’s matches and between the third and fourth sets for men’s matches.

If the WBGT hits 32.2 C (90 F), play is suspended. It would require an air temperature of about 38 C (100 F) for play to be suspended.

Some players were embracing the hotter air.

“I’ve always preferred hot and lively conditions to chilly on a clay court, because I feel like I can bring a little bit more of my all-court tennis on this type of surface,” Australian player Alex de Minaur said after beating Toby Samuel 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

“It’s easier to be a little bit more aggressive. The ball is jumping. I don’t necessarily have to use as much spin or heaviness, and I can let the conditions do the job for me. And it’s quite physical. I don’t mind the heat,” De Minaur added.

Same goes for American player Alex Michelsen, who eliminated Alexander Shevchenko in straight sets.

“It’s definitely good for us Americans,” Michelsen said. “Generally we’re big serve, big forehand, big ground game and like to play offense. When it’s super hot, the ball is moving through the air very fast. … I was so happy when I saw the forecast.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

A stadium worker sprays the court with water before the first round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Visitors cool themselves with water from sprinklers during a hot day at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

A woman cools herself with a portable fan during the first round men's singles tennis match between Alex De Minaur of Australia and Toby Samuel of Britain at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Spectators cool themselves with hand fans during the first round women's singles tennis match between Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and Anna Bondar of Hungary at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Poland's Iga Swiatek gestures for a ballboy as he shields her from the sun during a break at the first round women's singles tennis match against Emerson Jones of Australia at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Visitors cool themselves with water from sprinklers during a hot day at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Alex De Minaur of Australia attends a break during the first round men's singles tennis match against Toby Samuel of Britain at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)