112,485 houses were burned down throughout Myanmar since the 1 February 2021 coup until the end of December 2024, according to a report by Data for Myanmar.
Of those, 108,645 houses were deliberately set on fire by junta soldiers or members of allied organisations according to the report released by Data for Myanmar on 27 February 2025.
It said the region that experienced the greatest destruction of houses was Sagaing Region, where 75,864 houses were burnt down, 67 per cent of the total number of houses burned down throughout the country.
33,602 houses were burned down in the six next most affected regions and states. In descending order for number of burned down houses these were Magway Region, Mandalay Region, Kachin State, Arakan (Rakhine) State, Chin State, and Tanintharyi Region.
In 2021, 2,111 houses were deliberately set on fire, 2022 was the worst year so far with 46,856 houses being burned down. In 2023, 31,633 houses were burned down and in 2024 that number was 31,885 houses.
Just in the month of December 2024, a total of 4,323 houses were burned down across nine regions and states in Myanmar, including Arakan State.
A woman from Buthidaung Town in Arakan State said: “Our home was burned down and reduced to a charred ruin, leaving us with nothing but empty land. All our belongings have been destroyed, and now we must start over from scratch. The economy is so strained that we can't afford to rebuild at the moment.”
Data for Myanmar has urged all armed groups in Myanmar to refrain from deliberately burning down houses during military conflicts.
It also called on the international community to increase its efforts to ensure that all organisations involved in the conflict in Myanmar adhere to the military code of ethics.
Wai Hin Aung, a well-known author from Myanmar said: “The communities whose homes were burned are fellow Myanmar citizens. The junta's atrocities against its own people are indescribable. In truth, the Myanmar military has always been a cruel and evil institution, and that fact remains unchanged by any standard. As an armed force that oppresses its own people, the junta's current setbacks can only be seen as the result of the bitter curses of the people.”
Data for Myanmar also warned people returning to their homes and villages following arson attacks to be wary and to first carefully check for landmines and unexploded ordnance before they resettle.
