UN Releases Report Stating Myanmar Military Killed Over 700 Civilians Within 6 Months

News ၊ June 24, 2026

Myanmar Military Soldiers in Sittwe seen in 2012. Photo - Getty Image

The United Nations (UN) stated on June 22 that the Myanmar military is responsible for the deaths of over 700 civilians during the six-month election period last year.

A new United Nations report, covering the period from last August when the Myanmar military announced it would hold elections until the end of January when the voting period concluded, indicated that credible sources confirmed the deaths of at least 702 civilians in Myanmar.

Among them, 224 were women and 153 were children, according to the report by the UN Human Rights Office, which added that airstrikes continue to be a primary cause of destruction and suffering.

The report noted that at least 505 civilians including 175 women and 112 children, representing 57 percent of the total death toll were killed in attacks executed using fighter jets, drones, paramotors, and gyrocopters.

When asked who was responsible for these deaths, spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told the AFP news agency that all 702 deaths were caused solely by the Myanmar military.

She added, "This does not mean there were no civilian casualties caused by other armed groups. It is strictly based on the credible data we have obtained. This does not represent the absolute total figure."

The report mentioned that the civil war in Myanmar intensified after the military staged a coup in 2021, ending a decade-long democratic transition and removing the elected Aung San Suu Kyi government.

Following the coup, the Myanmar military (Military Commission) ruled directly for five years before holding a highly restrictive election, which the military's civilian political allies easily won unopposed.

Democracy watchdog groups, however, observed that this transition was used as a trick to rebrand the Military Commission's continuous rule, as the new parliamentarians went on to elect coup leader Min Aung Hlaing as President.

The UN Human Rights Office, which has been highly critical of the election process from the beginning, stated in its report: "Severe human rights violations and abuses amid general insecurity and instability characterized the period leading up to the military-controlled election."

It said that incidents demonstrating trends and patterns of violations and abuses, which severely undermined fundamental rights and freedoms essential for elections, were successfully verified.

The Human Rights Office analyzed and revealed that civilian casualties spiked significantly in August, September, and December, coinciding with the announcement of the election and the military's escalation of battlefield offensives in an attempt to assert territorial control.

The international community is urged to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Individual nations are also called upon to halt and prevent the transfer of weapons, aviation fuel, and dual-use (civilian and military) goods to Myanmar, where they risk facilitating violations of international law.

Source@ABN