Myanmar military escalates airstrikes on civilians, UN investigation finds

Myanmar's military has increasingly turned to low-cost aircraft, including motorised paragliders and gyrocopters, in a growing campaign of airstrikes that has killed civilians during the country's conflict with armed opposition groups, according to a UN investigation released yesterday (11 August).

Separately, the Arakan Army, a major ethnic armed group fighting government forces in Rakhine state, said yesterday that 20 civilians had been killed in military airstrikes so far this month.

Myanmar's military government did not immediately respond to the UN findings or the allegations by the Arakan Army. The military has previously maintained that it targets only legitimate military targets and has accused resistance groups of being terrorists.

The report by the UN-established Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, or IIMM, is based on a year-long investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the military and allied militias, as well as armed groups opposing the government.

The investigation found that abuses increased around the military-organised elections held in December and January. The IIMM said it recorded a significant rise in aerial attacks in the months leading up to the elections, with such attacks continuing afterwards. Investigators also documented patterns of arbitrary detention, torture and sexual violence.

The IIMM said civilian casualties have been compounded by the military's growing use of "double-tap" airstrikes, in which a second attack follows an initial strike and apparently targets first responders, people assisting the injured and civilians attempting to flee.

According to the report, Myanmar's military has increasingly used motorised paragliders, also known as paramotors, along with gyrocopters and drones, to carry out low-altitude attacks using unguided explosives.

In several recent incidents in the upper Sagaing region, paramotor pilots allegedly switched off their engines while approaching their targets, allowing the aircraft to glide quietly and giving civilians little or no time to escape or take shelter, the report said.

The findings were released as the Arakan Army said around 20 civilians had been killed and 22 others injured in airstrikes across three townships between 1 August and 11 August. It said one of the attacks involved as many as eight aircraft and continued for about an hour.

The military-backed government has not publicly commented on those reported attacks.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent group that tracks arrests and casualties related to Myanmar's civil war, says more than 8,000 civilians have been killed and over 31,000 arrested by security forces since 2021.

The IIMM, established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2018 to investigate violations of international law in Myanmar, said it had collected evidence from more than 1,600 sources and witnesses that could support future prosecutions of those responsible.

"Behind every piece of evidence we collect are people whose lives have been devastated by these crimes," IIMM head Nicholas Koumjian said in the report. "Communities across Myanmar are not only living under the constant threat of violence but are also coping with the profound and lasting impact of what they have endured."

The IIMM said it is also investigating serious crimes allegedly committed by armed groups opposed to the military, including members of the Arakan Army. Those allegations include rape and other sexual violence against Rohingya Muslim women, summary executions, recruitment of children and the destruction of mosques in Rakhine.

The report also said numerous people were detained under an election-related law that carries penalties of up to 20 years in prison or the death penalty for offences including criticising the elections online or distributing "anti-election" leaflets.

Critics dismissed the elections as a sham intended to strengthen the military's hold on power after its 2021 takeover ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and triggered the ongoing civil war.