"CRISIS OVERVIEW It has been just over two years since Myanmar’s military staged a coup in February 2021 and established itself as the military junta in power, officially known as the State Administrative Council (SAC). Since then, the country has been in a state of emergency, which was extended for an additional six months on 31 January 2023. The state of emergency has enabled the military to assume all government functions and gives the head of the military junta, Min Aung Hlaing, legislative, judicial, and executive powers (AP 01/02/2023). Mass protests against the military junta started immediately after the coup and became part of a wider peaceful civil disobedience movement, which included strikes and road blockages across the country (BBC 22/02/2021 and 17/02/2021). The opposition to the junta eventually grew into organised armed resistance, as several local ethnic armed groups separately fought the junta in a multifront conflict, partnering to different extents with the People’s Defence Force (PDF) (UK Parliament 17/04/2023). As at 14 April 2023, the country had reported more than 34,400 casualties and 18,300 incidents of political violence since the February 2021 coup. Of the incidents of political violence, 4,200 involved violence against civilians, and 7,100 involved explosions and remote violence, such as air strikes (ACLED accessed 20/04/2023 a). Between February 2021 and January 2023, there were at least 600 reported incidents of air strikes (ACLED accessed 20/04/2023 a; BBC 31/01/2023; IISS 15/11/2022). The air strikes and clashes have damaged schools, medical facilities, sites of religious significance, civilians’ homes, and other infrastructure (Fairplanet 23/03/2023; The Guardian 21/09/2022; BNI 05/10/2022). Countrywide, an estimated 17.6 million people are in humanitarian need, including 4.5 million with severe needs, mainly in rural conflict-affected areas (OCHA 06/04/2023). Compared to other regions, Sagaing has had the highest increase in the number of people with humanitarian needs in 2023, with the number reaching 2.6 million as at January 2023. This is already a 35% increase from the 900,000 people in need reported in 2022 (OCHA 15/01/2023 Myanmar ranks the highest for hazard and exposure in the INFORM Risk Index, scoring 9.2/10. The country scores 10/10 for hazards and exposure to human conflict and has a vulnerability score of 5.5/10, with development, deprivation, and inequality being the highest concerns. It has a 6.1/10 lack of coping capacity, which is largely institutional. The country ranks 16th on the INFORM risk list because of high hazard and exposure, vulnerability, and a lack of coping capacity (INFORM accessed 14/04/2023). Myanmar ranks the highest for hazard and exposure in the INFORM Risk Index, scoring 9.2/10. The country scores 10/10 for hazards and exposure to human conflict and has a vulnerability score of 5.5/10, with development, deprivation, and inequality being the highest concerns. It has a 6.1/10 lack of coping capacity, which is largely institutional. The country ranks 16th on the INFORM risk list because of high hazard and exposure, vulnerability, and a lack of coping capacity (INFORM accessed 14/04/2023)..."