Myanmar’s military has carried out a campaign of deliberate attacks on civilians, including airstrikes on homes, schools and camps, alongside torture and sexual violence, according to investigators appointed by the UN Human Rights Council.
Nicholas Koumjian, head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, said on Tuesday that his team had gathered evidence of where the attacks took place and the munitions used. “One of the areas that we’re concentrating on, because of the suffering that’s happening in Myanmar, are the airstrikes that are occurring,” he said. “We note in particular there are many airstrikes targeting, hitting, schools; children are often the victims of these airstrikes and also hospitals.”
Myanmar has been gripped by conflict since the military seized power in February 2021, overthrowing the civilian government and arresting senior leaders including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. The report found that attacks intensified in the run-up to elections completed in January and have not let up since.
The coup also triggered nationwide protests and the emergence of armed resistance movements, which now control large areas of the country.
The mechanism drew particular attention to the military’s growing use of motorised power gliders, which cut their engines before dropping bombs on communities “with no warning”.
