Targeting Civilians Is Not a War Strategy — It Is a War Crime

Oo Kyaw Thar, Contributing Author

Global Arakan Network November 9, 2025

Min Aung Hlaing and A Destruction of Civilian House in Ponnagyun Township

Following the ceasefire between the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Myanmar’s junta in northern Shan State, the military has turned its aggression westward. In recent weeks, Arakan State has become the epicenter of a brutal campaign — not between two armies, but between warplanes and unarmed civilians.

Between October 30 and November 8 alone, junta airstrikes killed nearly 30 civilians and wounded about 50 more across Ponnagyun, Rathedaung, Minbya, Pauktaw, and Kyaukphyu. Among the dead were women and children. There were no accidents of war. They were deliberate strikes on homes, schools, and villages — calculated terror by a regime at war with its own people.

The military claims it is defending the nation’s sovereignty. In reality, it is destroying that very nation from within. Cornered by defeats on multiple fronts and the steady erosion of control, the junta has reverted to its most familiar weapon: fear from the skies. But make no mistake — targeting civilians is not a military strategy. It is a war crime.

A Military That Thrives on the Blood of Its People

Myanmar’s junta, known as the Tatmadaw, has long been an institution sustained by violence and impunity. For decades, it has equated power with cruelty and governance with fear.

In 1988, soldiers gunned down hundreds of students in the pro-democracy uprising and filled prisons with thousands more. During the 2007 Saffron Revolution, the same army opened fire on Buddhist monks — the moral guardians of the nation. Since seizing power in the 2021 coup, the Tatmadaw has institutionalized terror: executing civilians, torturing detainees, burning villages, and bombing hospitals and schools.

These are not random excesses of war; they are systematic acts of terror designed to maintain control through submission. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), between February 1, 2021, and January 31, 2025, at least 6,239 civilians have been killed by the military council — including 1,397 women and 714 children — while 29,928 people have been arrested and imprisoned for resisting the coup.

Arakan: A Battlefield Without Soldiers

Nowhere is this cruelty more visible than in Arakan, where the junta’s war against its own citizens has reached genocidal proportions.

Since late 2023, the military has suffered catastrophic defeats in Arakan at the hands of the Arakan Army (AA). Within months, the AA had effectively taken control of 15 out of 18 townships, leaving the junta confined to small pockets of urban territory.

Unable to confront the AA directly, the military has turned its firepower on the only targets it can still reach — civilians. Entire villages have been reduced to ash under relentless air raids and artillery fire. One of the most tragic incidents occurred on September 12, when the junta carried out a midnight airstrike on a private school, killing more than 20 students and severely injuring 22 others. This horrific act exposes the military’s moral decay and its utter disregard for human life.

According to the Humanitarian and Development Cooperation Office (HDCO), between November 13, 2023, and September 30, 2025, junta attacks in Arakan killed 970 civilians, injured 2,054, and resulted in the unlawful arrest of around 1,000 people. These figures reveal a grim reality: the junta’s campaign is not a war — it is extermination.

The Hellhounds of Impunity

Despite killing thousands and displacing millions, none of the perpetrators have faced justice. The generals responsible for these atrocities continue to operate with impunity, shielded by power and fear.

Instead of accountability, the junta is preparing to stage a sham election — a political theater designed to legitimize its crimes. Such an election will not restore democracy; it will serve only as a license to kill, granting the perpetrators a false veneer of legitimacy.

The junta’s enforcement of mandatory conscription further exposes its desperation. Tens of thousands of young people are being forced into a war they neither support nor understand — effectively turned into human shields for a collapsing regime. Recognizing such a government would not only betray Myanmar’s people but also undermine the very foundations of international law.

The world must not recognize or legitimize this criminal enterprise masquerading as a government. To do so would be to sanction murder.

International Responsibility: Silence Is Complicity

Respect for human rights, human dignity, and the right to life are not optional ideals — they are the foundation of civilization. Yet today, the Myanmar junta continues to bomb civilians using advanced weaponry, including fighter jets and heavy artillery, against defenseless populations who possess no means of protection.

The international community, including ASEAN, can no longer afford to remain silent. Silence in the face of atrocity is not neutrality — it is complicity. Every moment of inaction emboldens the perpetrators and deepens the suffering of Myanmar’s people.

The path forward is clear. The international community must:

• Impose stronger, targeted sanctions on the junta’s leadership and financial networks.

• Refuse to recognize or engage with any election organized under military rule.

• Support the documentation and prosecution of war crimes through international legal mechanisms.

  
  

The junta’s impunity survives on hesitation and diplomatic caution. To end this cycle of terror, the world must move beyond statements and act decisively in solidarity with Myanmar’s people.

History will remember not only the crimes of the perpetrators but also the silence of those who watched. Because in Myanmar today, every silence is a bullet, and every delay digs another grave.