By Georgia Kiosi, Analyst KEDISA
Myanmar descended into civil war following the military coup of February 2021 and the detention of civilian leaders, including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.
The coup triggered nationwide protests and strikes, quickly escalating into full-scale armed conflict as the military launched a brutal campaign to suppress opposition.[1] The civil war which was ignited by the military coup has destroyed Myanmar’s economy and has created a huge humanitarian crisis.[2]
For over four years, Myanmar’s military has waged a campaign of terror across the country, sending numerous troops on bloody rampages, torching and bombing villages, massacring residents, jailing opponents and forcing young men and women to join the army, as well as, multiple accounts of sexual violence incidents have been reported.[3]
According to a report released by the United Nations Human Rights Office, 7,100 people have been murdered by the military, of whom about a third were women and children. At least 29,560 people have been arrested on political grounds and over 22,000 remain in detention. The United Nations estimates some 150,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since November 2023, joining nearly one million already taking refuge there.[4]
Furthermore, the United Nations investigators have confirmed that minors as young as two years old have been arrested, often as proxies for their parents, and held in prison facilities where torture is systematic.[5]
“Civilians from both Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine communities continue to suffer the consequences of the hostilities, with widespread and systematic patterns of indiscriminate attacks by the military against civilians and protected objects, forced displacement, forced recruitment, disappearances, arbitrary arrests, arson and property destruction, denial of humanitarian assistance, and repeated atrocities aimed at terrorizing them,” said the United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk, continuing that, “The military and the Arakan Army have acted with near complete impunity enabling the recurrence of violations in an endless cycle of suffering for the civilian population. Videos and pictures show death, destruction and desperation, distressingly similar to images that we already saw during the 2017 atrocities committed by the military against the Rohingya. It pains me deeply to see the same happening again.”[6]
Moreover, the United Nations report, covering the 14 months up until 31 May 2025, finds that nearly half of all civilian deaths throughout the country were reportedly the result of direct military aerial attacks. In addition, it uncovers two alarming new patterns, namely, 26 allegations of the use of chemicals, including fertilizers, attached to explosive devices, in six states and regions, and the use of armed paramotors, low-flying tactical aircraft that are used to drop munitions almost entirely on civilian locations, including civilian’s homes, villages, schools and camps for displaced people.[7] On that note, on 12 May 2025, an airstrike struck a school killing 24 civilians, including 16 girls, six boys, and two female teachers.[8]
At last, on 6 October 2025, tragedy struck again when at least 24 civilians were killed and more than 45 wounded after bombs were dropped on a crowd attending a religious festival in Chaung-U Township, Sagaing Region.[9] More specifically, witnesses reported that a motorized paraglider was used to drop two explosives on participants gathered to celebrate Thadingyut, the full moon festival.[10]
In the end, Myanmar remains trapped in a cycle of violence, oppression, and unchecked abuse of power. The military’s relentless campaign against its own people has utterly shattered the country. Without doubt, Myanmar risks descending even further into instability and suffering.
References
Ewe, Koh and Head, Jonathan. “At least 24 killed as army paraglider bombs Myanmar Buddhist festival”, BBC, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cge2l1xj2zdo (Accessed 12/10/2025)
Head, Jonathan, and BBC Burmese. “Fears of starvation in Myanmar as UN warns of ‘disaster’”, BCC, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdd3r864g6no (Accessed 12/10/2025)
Mishra, Vibhu. “Myanmar: Rights investigators reveal ‘systematic torture’, sexual violence”, UN News, 2025, https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165630 (Accessed 12/10/2025)
Mishra, Vibhu. “UN decries deadly Myanmar airstrike, amid mounting military attacks on civilians”, UN News, 2025, https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/10/1166062 (Accessed 12/10/2025)
Ratcliffe, Rebecca. “Myanmar army detaining two-year-olds as proxies for parents, witnesses tell UN”, The Guardian, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/12/myanmar-army-detaining-two-year-olds-proxies-parents-witnesses-un (Accessed 12/10/2025)
Regan, Helen. “This military junta is rebranding itself to hold elections. But a UN probe has found evidence of intensifying atrocities”, CNN, 2025, https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/16/asia/myanmar-election-atrocities-explainer-intl-hnk-dst (Accessed 12/10/2025)
United Nations. “Myanmar: Death, destruction and desperation mirror 2017 atrocities – UN report”, United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2025, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/myanmar-death-destruction-and-desperation-mirror-2017-atrocities-un-report (Accessed 12/10/2025)
Endnotes
[1] Mishra, Vibhu. “Myanmar: Rights investigators reveal ‘systematic torture’, sexual violence”, UN News, 2025, https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165630 (Accessed 12/10/2025)
[2] Head, Jonathan, and BBC Burmese. “Fears of starvation in Myanmar as UN warns of ‘disaster’”, BCC, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdd3r864g6no (Accessed 12/10/2025)
[3] Regan, Helen. “This military junta is rebranding itself to hold elections. But a UN probe has found evidence of intensifying atrocities”, CNN, 2025, https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/16/asia/myanmar-election-atrocities-explainer-intl-hnk-dst (Accessed 12/10/2025)
[4] United Nations. “Myanmar: Death, destruction and desperation mirror 2017 atrocities – UN report”, United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2025, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/myanmar-death-destruction-and-desperation-mirror-2017-atrocities-un-report (Accessed 12/10/2025)
[5] Ratcliffe, Rebecca. “Myanmar army detaining two-year-olds as proxies for parents, witnesses tell UN”, The Guardian, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/12/myanmar-army-detaining-two-year-olds-proxies-parents-witnesses-un (Accessed 12/10/2025)
[6] United Nations. “Myanmar: Death, destruction and desperation mirror 2017 atrocities – UN report”, United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2025, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/myanmar-death-destruction-and-desperation-mirror-2017-atrocities-un-report (Accessed 12/10/2025)
[7] United Nations. “Myanmar: Death, destruction and desperation mirror 2017 atrocities – UN report”, United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2025, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/myanmar-death-destruction-and-desperation-mirror-2017-atrocities-un-report (Accessed 12/10/2025)
[8] United Nations. “Myanmar: Death, destruction and desperation mirror 2017 atrocities – UN report”, United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2025, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/myanmar-death-destruction-and-desperation-mirror-2017-atrocities-un-report (Accessed 12/10/2025)
[9] Mishra, Vibhu. “UN decries deadly Myanmar airstrike, amid mounting military attacks on civilians”, UN News, 2025, https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/10/1166062 (Accessed 12/10/2025)
[10] Ewe, Koh and Head, Jonathan. “At least 24 killed as army paraglider bombs Myanmar Buddhist festival”, BBC, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cge2l1xj2zdo (Accessed 12/10/2025)
