Myanmar mourns as post-coup conflict death toll hits 100,000

Photo – A hospital in Maungdaw, western Rakhine State, is seen on December 11, 2025, after it was bombed by the Myanmar military, killing more than 30 people, with mourners seen bringing bodies to the crematorium before cremation. AFP The death toll from conflict in Myanmar, which has been embroiled in civil war since a military coup five years ago, has surpassed 100,000, a monitoring group said on Wednesday. The military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and detained the Nobel Peace laureate, ending a decade of democratic transition in the country. Security forces cracked down on anti-coup protests, but activists fled cities to form pro-democracy guerrilla groups and joined forces with ethnic armed organizations that have been resisting for decades. According to the latest data from ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data), which compiles media reports on violence, 100,114 people have died in conflict-related incidents since the coup. While there are no official figures for conflict deaths and estimates vary, analysts consider the five-year civil war to be the deadliest ongoing conflict in Asia. "The pain is endless," said Thein Aye Nu, 49, whose husband was killed in an airstrike in Rakhine State last month. "I am so hurt and so angry, but I don't even know who to be angry at. I have to accept it as fate and console myself," she said. "If the coup hadn't happened, the children would be going to school," said a man from Myaing, central Magway Region, whose teenage son was recently killed. His son had left home to join the pro-democracy revolutionary forces and was killed in combat, he said. "We couldn't even perform the Buddhist rites of merit-making properly because the heavy artillery was constantly firing," he said. According to the United Nations, more than 3.7 million people have been displaced in Myanmar, and as the country slips back into poverty, more than one in five people face severe food insecurity. Last year, Myanmar was the second-worst affected region in the world by conflict, after the Palestinian territories, ACLED said. ACLED has documented more than 1,200 armed groups in the civil war, calling it "the world's most fragmented conflict." "This is a matter of life and death. It is dangerous for civilians, and the conflict has spread throughout the country," said Su Mon, a senior researcher at ACLED. Translated by Moe The from AFP's "Myanmar mourns as post-coup conflict death toll hits 100,000." The post Myanmar mourns as post-coup conflict death toll hits 100,000 appeared first on BUR.MIZZIMA.COM.