Amnesty identifies Uzi clone used against protesters in Myanmar

Amnesty International has identified a sub-machine gun used by security services in Myanmar against unarmed nonviolent protesters as a BA-94 or BA-93 Uzi clone. The weapon is produced under license by state-owned arms company Myanmar Directorate of Defence Industries.

In footage verified by Amnesty, a woman was shot in the head with a live round and lost brain function. The image of the police officer aiming the Uzi clone "is standing at or close to the other side of the road from where the woman was shot." The incident took place at the end of February.

Amnesty International has identified other "battlefield weapons" - including MA-S sniper rifles, and MA-1 semi-automatic rifles produced in Myanmar, and RPD light machine guns manufactured in China  - being used against protesters. Joanne Mariner, Director of Crisis Response at Amnesty International, said “These are not the actions of overwhelmed, individual officers making poor decisions... these are unrepentant commanders already implicated in crimes against humanity, deploying their troops and murderous methods in the open.”

Israel has maintained military links with Myanmar. Investigating arms supplies to Myanmar in the aftermath of the genocidal violence against the Rohingya community in the north of Myanmar, the UN reported that Israel was among seven countries that sold arms to Myanmar’s military at a time when it should have known that the weapons “would be used in the commission of serious crimes under international law.” For more information on the military relationships between Israel and Myanmar, see: https://dimse.info/myanmar/