Post-coup civilian fatalities top 3,000: Myanmar human rights group

By Admin 20 Feb 2023

DMG Newsroom 20 
February 2023, Sittwe

The civilian death toll attributed to Myanmar’s military coup on February 1, 2021, surpassed a grim milestone in recent days, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), with more than 3,000 people killed by the regime and its affiliates.

In an email to DMG, an AAPP official said the death toll stood at 3,018 as of Monday, after hitting the 3,000 mark on February 17. 

Referring to the “military terrorists” that now rule Myanmar, the AAPP official added: “It has been more than two years since the coup, and the military council is still clinging to power unfairly. Under this brutal military regime, the country is only going to get worse day by day.”

As of February 20, at least 15,911 people remained detained since last year’s coup, of which 4,429 have been sentenced to prison time and 103 sentenced to death, including two minors, according to AAPP.

The AAPP said a total of 144 people have been sentenced to death either in person or in absentia, and 3,833 people are considered fugitives of the law under the military regime.

The human rights organisation said the number of arrests and deaths reported at present is only the number collected by AAPP, and that actual the figures could be higher.  

U Pe Than, a veteran politician, said that although the regime may be acting with impunity at present, a shift in fortunes could bring accountability for its conduct over the past two years. 

“The military regime has committed war crimes and when it has no power, it is certain that the military council will be prosecuted,” he said.

DMG attempted to contact Major-General Zaw Min Tun, the junta’s deputy minister for information and a spokesman for the military regime, regarding the AAPP statement, but he could not be reached.

Since the military coup, there has been heavy fighting between some ethnic armed groups and junta troops, as well as ongoing clashes between the anti-regime groups known as “People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) and the Myanmar military in various parts of the country.