After over two years of the military coup in Myanmar, there have been widespread human rights violations in the country in which over 3000 people have been killed, and at least 17572 individuals were detained by the State Administration Council (SAC) and its affiliated armed elements.
The violence intensified especially in the north-west and south-east in late 2021 and throughout 2022. The army employs a “four-cuts” strategy: indiscriminate deployment of airstrikes and artillery shelling, mass burnings of villages to displace civilian populations, and denial of humanitarian access.
The military has been decimating anti-coup opposition and civic space in the country deliberately.
Extrajudicial executions by the military often following arrests carried out in villages and towns after raids are very rampant in the country. The severity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that last year there were at least 24 incidents where 5 or more people were detained and then killed in a single incident.
Since 1 February 2021 when a coup took place in Myanmar at least 920 people have died while in military custody. Individuals were also killed in airstrikes, artillery fire, and during arson attacks on villages.
Rampant abuse of human rights by the military
1) There is widespread use of extrajudicial executions by the military often following arrests carried out in villages and towns after raids.
2) In the past year, there were at least 24 incidents where 5 or more people were detained and then killed in a single incident.
3) At least 920 people have died while in military custody since 1 February 2021.
4) Individuals were also killed in airstrikes, artillery fire, and during arson attacks on villages.
The entire country faces absolute persecution and killings. Since the coup, 1200 people have been killed in Sagaing region, 343 in Mandalay, 314 in Yangon, and 251 in Magway.
Crimes by anti-military armed groups
OHCHR received reports of targeted killings by anti-military armed groups of individuals perceived as informers or pro-military militia members, particularly in urban areas.
Between February and the end of January 2023, over 127 local administrators were killed nationwide, with 71 incidents occurring in Mandalay and Yangon, 38 claimed by anti-military armed groups.
Bomb attacks have also been reportedly carried out in areas with a high risk of causing casualties among the civilian population.
Right to liberty curtailed
The military has progressively targeted individuals accused of association with antimilitary armed groups; use of torture and
ill-treatment by the military continued to be reported, including children.
Family members of persons with outstanding arrest warrants increasingly faced arbitrary arrest and detention, including through repeated abductions and hostage-taking of children, as young as three, constituting in some cases enforced disappearances.
Interviewees continued to report inadequate conditions in detention, which may amount to torture, including overcrowding; insufficient sanitation and hygiene; and lack of access to or denial of healthcare services, food, and water.
The military also carried out enforced disappearances, particularly of prominent political figures, and religious and community
leaders, family members of sought individuals to force them out of hiding and in the context of raids on villages.
Sexual and gender-based violence, including rape, were perpetrated in interrogation centers and other formal detention settings against women, men, and LGBTQI+ community members, as well as in villages during military raids.
Gender-based crimes, including trafficking, early and forced marriages, sexual harassment and violence, exploitation, and forced prostitution, are reported to be on the rise.
Abrogation of fundamental freedom
Since the coup military has arrested 178 journalists
Convicted 60 journalists (18 in 2021; 42 in 2022)
Revoked the licenses of at least 13 independent press outlets and eight publication and printing houses.
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