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UN confirms 170 civilian fatalities in Myanmar military air raids
The United Nations has documented at least 170 civilian deaths resulting from military air strikes in Myanmar during the country's recent election period, which concluded last week. The UN human rights office cited credible sources for the figures, alongside 408 aerial attacks carried out by the military between December 2025 and late January.
Election condemned as sham amid widespread exclusion
The election, held in three rounds with the final vote on 28 January, has been widely dismissed as illegitimate by international observers and human rights groups. The military-backed Union and Solidarity Party (USDP) secured a dominant victory, according to state media, in a process critics describe as tightly controlled and designed to entrench junta rule.
Voting was impossible in vast areas of Myanmar, where civil war has raged since the 2021 military coup that ousted and imprisoned democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), which had won landslides in the two previous elections, was barred from participating.
UN rights chief slams election as 'staged by the military'
Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned the election as a "staged" exercise in a statement released on Friday. He highlighted the exclusion of opposition candidates and several ethnic groups from the vote, noting that citizens were forced to decide whether to participate "purely out of fear," violating their internationally recognized rights.
"The conflict and insecurity continued unabated in large parts of the country."
Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Civilian death toll likely underreported, UN warns
James Rodehaver, head of the UN Human Rights team for Myanmar, stated that the reported civilian deaths occurred between the start of campaigning in December and the final voting day in late January. The figures, compiled from open sources, are expected to be incomplete due to restricted communications and fear among local populations, according to AFP.
Analysts suggest the military junta may use the election outcome to legitimize its grip on power through proxy political parties, despite the ongoing conflict and widespread disenfranchisement.
Background: Myanmar's post-coup crisis
The military seized power in February 2021, overthrowing Aung San Suu Kyi's government and sparking a nationwide uprising. The ensuing civil war has displaced millions and deepened humanitarian crises, with the junta facing resistance from ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy forces.
