A recent United Nations report indicates that the military in Myanmar was responsible for the deaths of over 700 civilians during the six-month election period last year. The UN currently verifies the number of confirmed fatalities at a minimum of 702. These victims include 224 women and 153 children. Of these, 476 deaths were attributed to airstrikes, though 111 people-including 43 women and ten children-died prior to the elections even beginning in December.
The report covers the six months following the announcement of new elections by the army, which seized power five years earlier via a coup. This electoral process was widely criticized as a farce because the most significant opposition parties were prohibited from participating.
UN experts have warned that a decline in international aid money will further worsen the extreme hardship faced by millions of people. Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated, “As if the people of Myanmar had not already suffered enough under the military, they now seem to be forgotten by the outside world.” He noted that the financing of local protection measures had been the only comfort in many areas facing suffering caused by constant harassment and indiscriminate military attacks. “This withdrawal only aggravates that suffering,” Türk added.
The military took control of power in 2021, triggering a civil war that has since resulted in thousands of lives lost and millions displaced. Large parts of the country continue to be controlled by armed opposition groups.
