Civilian killings on the rise in Myanmar
SkimNews Take
The gap between diplomatic courtship abroad and mass killings at home suggests external legitimacy efforts operate as a parallel track rather than a constraint on internal military violence.
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- Myanmar's military intensified civilian attacks after Ye Win Oo replaced Min Aung Hlaing as commander-in-chief in late March, deploying specialized groups of two-to-five jet fighters for sustained airstrikes on single targets, per ACLED.
- ACLED recorded more than a dozen mass killings and over 450 civilian fatalities in the first half of 2026, with roughly 40% of deaths concentrated in Myanmar's central dry zone known as the Anyar region.
- Junta troops — about 700 soldiers — swept through Myit Chay township across the river from the ancient Bagan temples in May, killing at least 40 residents after seizing their belongings, according to three local witnesses.
- Min Aung Hlaing transitioned from military chief to civilian president in April after an election that barred most opposition; he has since visited India and China and will make an official trip to Thailand on August 6-7.
- The civil war triggered by the 2021 coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government has killed roughly 100,000 people and displaced millions, ACLED noted.
Why it matters: Min Aung Hlaing's diplomatic charm offensive — visits to India and China plus an August 6-7 Thailand trip and tentative ASEAN re-engagement — runs in parallel with the deadliest documented civilian toll yet under new commander Ye Win Oo, whose forces are deploying more sustained aerial bombing tactics. ACLED warns reprieve for civilians is unlikely, meaning the political transition is formalizing a regime whose repression has not eased, only changed methods.
