Myanmar Resistance Groups Seek Over $500m in Aid from the US
In a bid to overthrow Myanmar's military regime, armed resistance groups are appealing to the United States government for humanitarian and nonlethal aid amounting to over half a billion dollars. This assistance would include funding for drones, armored vehicles, and radar jamming equipment.
The United States Congress had previously passed the Burma Unification through Rigorous Military Accountability Act, or BURMA Act, in December as part of the 2023 fiscal year's comprehensive defense budget, which extends through September. This act grants authorization to the US government to provide nonlethal support to armed groups that resist the junta but did not allocate any specific funding.
Now, some of these resistance groups are approaching Congress, urging them to appropriate 525 million dollar for Myanmar in the upcoming fiscal year, with 200 million dollar designated for nonlethal aid. If approved, this amount would be nearly four times the $136 million allotted for general aid and development in Myanmar during the previous year.
The request is being made by Myanmar's National Unity Government, an undercover administration operating from concealment and exile, working to depose the junta. The plea is also supported by three allied ethnic minority rebel armies. Together, along with numerous smaller local militias, they are believed to have either full or contested control over approximately half of Myanmar's countryside.
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