Myanmar military killed more than 700 civilians during six-month election period: UN

GENEVA: Myanmar’s military was responsible for more than 700 civilian deaths during the six-month period surrounding last year’s election process, the United Nations said on Monday, citing a new report by the UN rights office.

The report covered the period from August, when the military announced elections would be held, through the end of the voting period in January. Credible sources had verified a minimum of 702 civilian deaths during that span, including 224 women and 153 children.

The UN rights office said air strikes remained the biggest single cause of damage and suffering. It reported that at least 505 civilians, among them 175 women and 112 children, were killed in attacks involving jet fighters, drones, para-motors and gyrocopters, accounting for 57 percent of the total.

Asked who was responsible for the killings, UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the 702 deaths were attributable to the Myanmar military, while adding that this did not mean other armed groups had caused no civilian casualties. She said the report was based on credible data available to the office and did not represent a comprehensive total.

Election period under scrutiny

The UN rights office said serious human rights violations and abuses, along with broad insecurity and instability, marked the period before the military-controlled elections. Verified incidents showed patterns of violations and abuses that significantly weakened the basic rights and freedoms required for credible elections.

Civilian deaths rose sharply during two periods in particular — August-September and December — which coincided with the election announcement and the military’s battlefield advances as it sought to secure territorial control.

Myanmar has been engulfed in civil war since 2021, when the military seized power in a coup, ending a decade-long democratic opening and removing the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The country remained under direct military rule for five years after the coup before the junta held tightly restricted polls this year that handed an easy victory to its civilian allies.

Following those elections, newly elected lawmakers chose coup leader Min Aung Hlaing as president in a transition that democracy watchdogs criticised as an attempt to relabel his continued rule.

Call for international action

The UN rights office, which had criticised the elections from the outset, urged countries to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court. It also called on states to stop and prevent transfers to Myanmar of arms, as well as jet fuel and dual-use items, where there is a risk they could help facilitate violations of international law.