At least 3,500 civilians have been killed in the year since the coup.
This is the highest number of annual deaths for 30 years according to a study by Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar.
At least 1,358 civilians were killed by government forces.
Anti-government forces killed 1,500 people as dalan (informers) and in bombings. Also, 292 government employees and at least another 430 civilians have been killed in the unrest.
After the coup, extensive fighting broke out between the ethnic armed groups, the People’s Defence Forces and the military council. The civilian population has been greatly affected because the military targets innocent people as well as anti-government forces.
For more than 60 years ethnic people have been treated brutally by the military, who do things such as using them as human shields. But, since the coup their treatment of ethnic people has worsened.
Ethnic people are uniting with Bamar people from the central regions against the military and their leader Min Aung Hlaing.
Soldiers often aim for and shoot at civilian’s heads. The first victim to be shot in the head was Ma Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing from Nay Pyi Taw. Since then nearly 200 people have been shot in the head, with the highest number in Sagaing, where over 40 people have been killed that way.
According to the media 3,500 unarmed civilians who had nothing to do violence against the military, have been killed and the true number is likely to be far higher because many deaths and atrocities have gone unrecorded.
On the Eve of Christmas in Moso village, Pharuso township in Kayah State, the military massacred and burned to death more than 40 locals, including 3 children, for no reason.
On January 6 in Matupi, Chin State, ten locals including a 13-year-old boy were beheaded and stabbed several times.
International officials have also said that such incidents are extremely worrying.
The Union Minister for International Cooperation, Dr. Sasa, said that following massacres by the military survivors and relatives of the deceased can file complaints to international courts.
The army’s tactics have also severely affected children who have been killed and displaced by their actions. According to Save the Children at least 150,000 children have been displaced since the coup. There have been over 2,000 incidents in each region since the coup. These have created over 550,000 internally displaced people, 37 percent of whom were children.
Airstrikes are the most recent tactic of the military. They have carried out at least 54 airstrikes that have killed more than 50 civilians and destroyed homes in Chin State.
The regions most affected by violence have been Sagaing and Magway where more than 1.300 homes were deliberately burned down.
Many people have also died whilst being interrogated by government forces. Usually, they are arrested at night and their relatives are called in the morning to remove the mutilated body. Over 100 people have died during interrogations, with the highest number of fatalities being in Mandalay.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), in the past year, over 11,000 people have been arrested. Nearly 3,000 have been released, but more than 8,600 people are still in prison.
