In the first six months of 2024, Myanmar’s junta violence, including atrocities and bombings, resulted in the deaths of 1,076 civilians, according to a report by an activist group.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which monitors junta arrests and killings, reported that junta shelling caused 318 deaths, while airstrikes claimed 308 lives.
Among the victims, 348 were women, 15 were members of religious orders, and 30 were from the education sector.
Sagaing region recorded the highest number of fatalities with 313 deaths, followed by Rakhine State with 259, according to the AAPP.
Since the military coup in 2021, the junta has arrested nearly 27,000 civilians and killed over 5,300 people, the AAPP reported. The escalation of violence has drawn international concern and calls for action.
The junta, facing battlefield losses, has intensified airstrikes and shelling on non-military targets such as villages, schools, hospitals, markets, displacement camps, and religious sites, leading to a significant rise in civilian casualties.
Myanmar’s anti-regime ambassador to the United Nations, U Kyaw Moe Tun, addressed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on June 27, emphasizing that Myanmar needs urgent action from the international community.
“Decisive timely action from the UN, in particular the UN Security Council, is well overdue…I with a very heavy heart appeal to the international community, in particular the Security Council to take concrete action now to save the lives of the people of Myanmar by putting humanity first,” the ambassador said.
He also emphasized the need to cut the flow of weapons, jet fuel, and financial support to the junta to save lives.