Former UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday (Apr 25) urged the Myanmar military to halt violence in the conflict-racked country and engage with its opponents to end the bloody crisis.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in February 2021, sparking fighting across swathes of the country and tanking the economy.

Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis have stalled, with the junta ignoring international criticism of its brutal crackdown on dissent and refusing to engage with its opponents.