Death toll in Myanmar surpasses 100,000 since 2021 coup

More than 100,000 people have died across all sides of Myanmar’s conflict since the military seized power five years ago, according to conflict monitoring data released Wednesday. Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), which compiles media reports of violence, recorded 100,114 conflict-related fatalities since the Feb. 1, 2021 coup that toppled the elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government of Aung San Suu Kyi. No official death toll exists and estimates differ significantly, but analysts consider the half-decade conflict Asia’s deadliest active war. The Myanmar military, led by Min Aung Hlaing, overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD administration and detained the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, ending a decade-long democratic experiment. Security forces crushed anti-coup protests, prompting activists to flee cities and establish pro-democracy guerrilla forces that now fight alongside ethnic armed groups long opposed to central military rule. “The pain is just endless,” said Thein Aye Nu, 49, whose husband was killed in an airstrike in Myanmar’s western Arakan State last month. “I am so deeply resentful and very angry. But I don’t even know who to be angry at anymore. I just have to console myself by accepting it as fate.” In the central Magway Region’s Myit Chay town, a father lost his teenage son who ran away from home to join pro-democracy rebels. “If there was no coup, children would be studying at schools,” he said. His son died in combat. The family could not perform proper Buddhist funeral rites as heavy artillery fire continued around them. “He left so many memories — I am not satisfied to have done so little for him,” the father said. The U.N. reported more than 3.7 million internally displaced persons across Myanmar, with over one in five people facing acute food insecurity as the country slides deeper into poverty. Violence takes different forms depending on location. Yangon, the commercial capital, sees occasional assassinations. Other areas face entrenched warfare or daily airstrikes from the regime’s Russian- and Chinese-supplied jets. ACLED ranked Myanmar the second most conflict-affected place globally last year, behind only the Palestinian territories. A former military conscript who deserted after serving on front lines described the fate of those forcibly recruited under legislation activated in February 2024. “These conscripts can’t do anything. It’s like they are just being sent to die,” said the 20-year-old, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. ACLED has documented more than 1,200 distinct armed groups operating in the civil war, designating it “the most fragmented conflict in the world.” “It’s deadly, it’s dangerous to civilians, the conflict has spread across the whole country,” said Su Mon Thant, the ACLED senior analyst on Myanmar. The conflict’s trajectory has shifted repeatedly. A coordinated rebel offensive beginning late 2023 achieved dramatic territorial gains, with resistance forces advancing toward Mandalay, the second-largest city. Speculation mounted that rebels might capture the ancient royal capital. The military has since regained momentum after China increased its support for the regime in Naypyidaw. Beijing-brokered ceasefires with two of the most powerful ethnic armed groups, which strengthened Min Aung Hlaing’s regime and allowed it to hold elections that ended in January. The pro-military parliament elected as a result of regime-managed elections appointed Min Aung Hlaing president of Myanmar in April.