According to investigators appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council, Myanmar's military has carried out a sustained campaign of deliberate attacks on civilians, including airstrikes on homes, schools, and camps for displaced people, as well as arbitrary detentions, torture, and sexual violence. These findings are included in the annual report of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), which covers the period from July 2025 to June 2026 and was released on Tuesday.
Over the past year, the Mechanism’s investigations revealed that the frequency and severity of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Myanmar military and various non-state armed groups have escalated.
"One of the areas that we're concentrating on is, because of the suffering that's happening in Myanmar, are the airstrikes [against communities] that are occurring [...] We're looking at the command structure and how the orders would be given for such airstrikes," said Nicholas Koumjian, head of the Mechanism.
"In particular there are many airstrikes targeting, hitting schools. Children are often the victims of these airstrikes and also hospitals. So, our team is collecting that evidence of where it has occurred, the kind of munitions that are used."
Since the military seized power in February 2021, overthrowing the civilian government and arresting top leaders, including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar has been engulfed in conflict. The coup triggered nationwide protests and subsequent armed resistance movements that now control large parts of the fractured country.
The report found that attacks intensified in the lead-up to the January elections and have not let up since.
The investigators traced strikes on homes, schools, medical facilities, religious buildings, and displacement camps and identified some of the military units responsible. They also found that the military's expanding use of motorized power gliders and drones has made it harder for civilians to anticipate attacks, reducing the time they have to flee or find shelter.
“Behind every piece of evidence we collect are people whose lives have been devastated by these crimes,” said Koumjian.
“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 investigators also documented widespread torture and sexual violence in military-run detention facilities. This includes cases tied to a 2025 law that criminalizes criticism of the elections. Under this law, people have been jailed for up to 20 years or sentenced to death for minor acts, such as posting critical comments online.
While most of the evidence concerns the military and allied militias, the Mechanism said it is also investigating abuses by armed groups opposed to the military. The findings are based on more than 1,600 sources, including over 750 witness accounts, as well as photographs, videos, forensic evidence, and satellite imagery.
Myanmar’s Rakhine State experienced a significant escalation of conflict during the reporting period. The Mechanism investigated crimes such as arbitrary detention, torture, forced displacement, and restrictions on humanitarian assistance against the Rohingya, Rakhine, and other communities. These crimes were committed by all perpetrators, including members of the non-state armed group Arakan Army.
Established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2018, the Mechanism collects and preserves evidence of the gravest crimes committed in Myanmar since 2011 for use in future prosecutions. While it does not prosecute cases itself, it shares its evidence with courts and authorities that do.
These include the International Criminal Court, as well as courts in Argentina pursuing cases over crimes against the Rohingya. The International Court of Justice is also considering whether Myanmar violated the Genocide Convention during its 2016–2017 campaign of mass atrocities against Rohingya communities.
In 2017, Myanmar’s security forces carried out a large-scale military campaign in Rakhine State. Beginning in August of that year, hundreds of villages were burned, and Rohingya men, women, and children were killed throughout northern Rakhine. This campaign has been widely described as ethnic cleansing.
At least 740,000 Rohingya refugees fled to Bangladesh in 2017, joining the hundreds of thousands who had previously fled the country. Additionally, since mid-2024, over 150,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh due to the escalating violence in Rakhine State resulting from the civil war that followed the 2021 military coup.
This continuous wave of displacement, spanning from historic mass atrocities to the ongoing civil war, fuels a broader national emergency that spans nearly every corner of the country.
Myanmar’s humanitarian emergency
Although it is often overlooked by the global public, Myanmar remains one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. This year, more than 16 million people, including approximately 5 million children, are in need of assistance and protection.
The emergency is characterized by ongoing armed conflict, forced displacement, widespread human rights violations, severe economic deterioration, and natural disasters. Since the military takeover five years ago, needs in Myanmar have risen dramatically, a situation exacerbated by the devastating earthquake that struck the country in 2025.
Some 5.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes. An estimated 3.8 million are internally displaced, and around 1.5 million have sought refuge in neighboring countries. For Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh, returning to Myanmar safely remains impossible while the conflict rages on.
The armed conflict affects most of the country and is considered one of the deadliest in the world. Intense fighting and displacement continue to affect the northwestern and southeastern regions, including Magway, Sagaing, Chin, Bago, and Kayin. Meanwhile, the states of Rakhine, Shan, and Kayah face an ongoing risk of aerial attacks and armed clashes.
Although humanitarian organizations are working to save lives, the need continues to outpace available resources. Of the US$890 million required for the 2026 response to provide critical, life-saving assistance and protection services to 4.9 million people in Myanmar, only $415 million has been received to date — less than 47 percent of what is needed.