UN REPORTS MYANMAR MILITARY KILLED 702 CIVILIANS IN SIX MONTHS

The United Nations Human Rights Office documented a minimum of 702 civilian deaths in Myanmar between August and January, attributing them to the military. The report states that verified deaths included 224 women and 153 children. The period covered the six months following the military's announcement of elections, which took place after the armed forces staged a coup five years earlier. Main opposition parties were excluded from the electoral process.

Air strikes constituted the single largest cause of civilian deaths and destruction, according to the UN report. The Sagaing region recorded the highest toll, with 191 deaths including 60 women and 30 children, as the military advanced militarily in the area. In October, munitions struck civilians gathered in front of a school in Chaung-U, Sagaing, killing 23 people including four children and wounding more than 60 others; participants had been holding a candlelit event marking the end of Buddhist Lent and calling for political prisoner releases and opposing military conscription. In December, a military aeroplane bombed a tea shop in Tabayin, Sagaing, where people had assembled to watch a football match, killing at least 19 and wounding 20.

The report also documented forced recruitment, killings, arbitrary arrests and sexual violence against Rohingya people. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk stated that funding for localised protection efforts had been the primary support available to civilians facing military targeting and indiscriminate attacks. The report warned that declining international assistance was compounding suffering for millions across Myanmar.