Nearly 1,600 civilian dead in 147 massacres since Myanmar military coup: report

30 May 2023
Nearly 1,600 civilian dead in 147 massacres since Myanmar military coup: report
This handout image from the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) taken and released on December 25, 2021 shows burnt vehicles in Hpruso township in Kayah state. Photo: KNDF/AFP

A total of 1,592 civilians were killed in 147 massacres, with at least five deaths in each case, by Myanmar military forces from February 2021 to April 2023 across Myanmar, according to a recent report by Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica.

The military used fighter jets in 27 aerial attacks and bombardments, killing 508 people. And these aerial attacks contributed to 32 per cent of the total massacres.

The report categorized the massacres committed by the military into five groups related to brutal crackdown on protests, heavy weapons shelling, battles and clearance operations, and killings conducted by pro-military militia groups such as Pyusawhtee and Thway Thout.

These massacres took place Watlet, Yinmabin, Kalay and Kantbalu townships of Sagaing region, Hpakant Township of Kachin state, and Bago region.

During the raids on villages, the military burned down houses, and those who could not escape from the arson attacks were killed by fire. In some cases, the military used civilians as human shields. Some were brutally killed, accused of being members of the revolutionary forces.

The military regime has declared the revolutionary forces as terrorist groups, and that the supporters of the resistance groups were killed by the pro-military mobs in urban areas.

The Ministry of Defence under the National Unity Government (NUG) said early this month that 300 PDF battalions and columns and over 250 people’s defence organizations have been formed across the country.

The NUG’s weekly press update in the first week of May stated that the military carried out arson attacks on 4,083 houses, three religious buildings, four schools, one hospital and 11 civilians last month. The atrocities mostly happened in Sagaing, Kachin, Mandalay, Magway, Chin, Karen, Tahnintharyi, Mon, and Yangon, with 2,477 houses burnt alone in Sagaing region.