FN: 702 civila dödades på ett halvår i Myanmar

The Myanmar civil war began following the military coup on 1 February 2021. The seizure of power triggered mass anti-coup demonstrations and a violent crackdown by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar armed forces), which significantly escalated the country's longstanding insurgencies. In response to the coup, the exiled National Unity Government (NUG) and major ethnic armed organisations repudiated the 2008 Constitution and called instead for a democratic federal state. Besides engaging this alliance, the ruling government of the military junta, the State Administration Council (SAC), led by Min Aung Hlaing, also contends with other anti-SAC forces in areas under its control. The insurgents are apportioned into hundreds of armed groups scattered across the country. As of March 2023 the United Nations estimated that since the coup, 17.6 million people in Myanmar required humanitarian assistance, 1.6 million were internally displaced, and over 55,000 civilian buildings had been destroyed. In May 2026, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that around 299,000 people had fled to neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, India, and Thailand. By 2022, the opposition controlled substantial, though sparsely populated, territory. By October 2023, the Tatmadaw controlled under 40% of the country, though it maintained that it controlled around two-thirds of the country's 330 townships. In the second half of 2023, Chinland Defense Forces in Chin State had captured a majority of the state, with a few holdouts in urban areas and along the India–Myanmar border remaining. In October 2023, the Tatmadaw began facing manpower issues, with desertions and low morale being extremely common. This coincided with a major offensive by the People's Defense Force (PDF) and Three Brotherhood Alliance in the west of the country, which took 80 bases, 220 SAC positions, and several towns by 28 November 2023. October 2023 saw the beginning of a series of concurrent anti-SAC offensives. In Operation 1027, anti-SAC forces seized Laukkai, the capitals of Kokang Self-Administered Zone. Operation 1111 besieged the state capital of Loikaw. Arakan Army (AA) seized Mrauk U, among other towns, in an offensive in northern Rakhine state. By February 2024, thousands of the SAC's soldiers had surrendered without a fight, including six Tatmadaw generals. The SAC has used terror tactics against the population, including burnings, beheadings, mutilations, war rape, torching villages, and a massive aerial bombing campaign that has displaced nearly three million people. The Myanmar Air Force has dropped more bombs per capita than have been dropped in the Russo-Ukrainian war. A group of observers wrote that the SAC's forces remain formidable, with external allies and economic resources. In March 2024, anti-SAC forces in southeastern Myanmar captured Demoso and Papun, bringing the number of district-level towns captured by anti-SAC forces to eight. In June, Matupi was captured by Chin resistance. The Three Brotherhood Alliance then restarted Operation 1027, capturing Kyaukme in June and two more district-level towns in July. On 3 August, the MNDAA captured Lashio, the largest town in northern Shan State and headquarters of the Tatmadaw's Northeastern Command. On 20 December 2024, the Arakan Army captured the Tatmadaw's Western Command headquarters in Ann, Rakhine State. After the deadly 2025 Myanmar earthquake, the NUG declared a two-week pause on offensives, and the SAC announced a ceasefire from 2 April to 22 April, despite continuing airstrikes on rebel groups. On 31 July, the SAC announced its dissolution and transferred power to the National Defence and Security Council under the chairmanship of Min Aung Hlaing. Continued junta counteroffensives saw success in northern Shan state, retaking the district capital of Kyaukme on 2 October 2025. The TNLA withdrew from Mogok and Mongmit due to supply issues and the MNDAA fully withdrew from Lashio under Chinese pressure. Fighting has continued variously in southern Kachin State, Kayah State and Rakhine State.