NINE members of the United Nations security council on Monday condemned “indiscriminate” air strikes by Myanmar’s military against civilians.

The nine council members — the United States, Britain, France, Japan, Ecuador, Malta, South Korea, Slovenia and Switzerland — said that, three years after the military takeover, more than 18 million people need humanitarian aid and 2.6 million remain displaced.

The nine stood before reporters to support a statement, read by Britain’s UN ambassador Barbara Woodward, which urged Myanmar’s armed forces “to cease its attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure,” marking a sharp contrast to their silence on Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza.

The council members received a closed briefing from veteran diplomat Alounkeo Kittikhoun — the special envoy to Myanmar from this year’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chair, Laos.

Mr Kittikhoun set out the regional efforts to implement a peace plan that has so far been largely ineffective.

The plan, adopted in April 2021 shortly after the military seized power in a takeover that sparked a civil war, calls for the immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar, a dialogue among all concerned parties, mediation led by the special envoy, provision of humanitarian aid and a visit to Myanmar by Mr Kittikhoun.

Mr Kittikhoun committed to implementing ASEAN’s “five-point consensus” through continued “quiet diplomacy,” according to a council source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The junta in Myanmar has so far ignored the plan.

The military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and is facing an armed pro-democracy resistance movement loosely aligned with an array of ethnic minority separatist militias.

The military stepped up air raids after the three ethnic minority armed groups launched a major offensive in late October, seizing towns in the country’s north-east, along with major border crossings for trade with China.

Myanmar’s UN ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, who still represents Ms Suu Kyi’s ousted government, urged the council to adopt a stronger resolution.

He said: “Democratic forces are gaining ground and the military junta is losing every day.”

According to the council source, China, which has close ties to Myanmar, emphasised the need to give ASEAN’s efforts time and space.

Russia, which also has links to Myanmar, was adamant that the council shouldn’t be interfering in Myanmar’s internal affairs.