Myanmar army killed over 700 civilians in six months, UN says
A UN Human Rights Office report dated 22 June 2026 has confirmed that Myanmar’s military armed forces were responsible for more than 700 civilian deaths between August and January, the period covering the country’s controversial 2024 elections.
The study cites a minimum of 702 victims, including 224 women and 153 children, as verified by credible local sources. It highlights that campaign “air‑strikes remained the single largest cause of destruction and suffering.”
The most affected area was Sagaing, with 191 deaths, including 60 women and 30 children. Key incidents included a November air strike killing 23 people—four children—in a candlelit gathering outside a school, and a December bomb that struck a tea shop during a football match, killing 19 and wounding 20.
The report also raises concerns over forced recruitment and abuses against the Rohingya by the Arakan Army, as well as arbitrary arrests and sexual violence.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk remarked, “The people of Myanmar have been forgotten by those outside the country, and the pullback of international assistance is further compounding the injury of countless civilians.”
Myanmar’s political context stems from a 2021 coup in which the military deposed a democratically elected government and detained Aung San Suu Kyi. In April 2026, the coup leader Min Aung Hlaing was appointed president, and the electoral process was widely criticized as a sham, with many opposition parties barred from participating.
The parliament is now dominated by soldiers and loyalists, and the armed forces hold a guaranteed 25% of the seats. The Union Solidarity and Development Party won nearly 80% of the remaining seats in an election that heavily favoured the military.
The graphic above shows Min Aung Hlaing, the general who launched the 2021 coup, now occupying the presidency of Myanmar.
