GENEVA(National Times)- Myanmar\u2019s military was responsible for more than 700 civilian deaths over the six-month election period last year, the United Nations said on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A fresh UN report covering the period from last August, when Myanmar\u2019s military announced elections would be held, through the conclusion of the voting period at the end of January, said credible sources had verified \u201ca minimum of 702 civilian deaths\u201d over that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf these, 224 were women and 153 children,\u201d the report from the UN rights office said, adding that \u201cair strikes remained the single largest cause of destruction and suffering\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt least 505 civilians, including 175 women and 112 children, or 57 percent of the total, were killed in attacks carried out with jet fighters, drones, para-motors and gyrocopters,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked who was responsible for the killings, spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said that \u201cthose 702 are attributable to the Myanmar military\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean that there are no civilian casualties attributable to other armed groups,\u201d she stressed, adding that the report relied on \u201ccredible data that we have access to. It is not a comprehensive figure\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Civil war engulfed Myanmar in 2021 when the military staged a coup, ending a decade-long democratic interlude and deposing the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Myanmar was ruled directly by the military for five years after the coup, before the junta held deeply restricted polls which this year delivered a walkover win for its allies in civilian politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New MPs elected coup leader Min Aung Hlaing as president in a transition which democracy watchdogs derided as a ploy to rebrand his continuing rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UN rights office, which was harshly critical of the elections from the start, said in its report that \u201cserious human rights violations and abuses, amid generalised insecurity and instability, characterised the period preceding the military-controlled elections\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It said it had \u201cverified incidents that evinced trends and patterns of violations and abuses that significantly undermined the essential fundamental rights and freedoms necessary for credible elections\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rights office determined that civilian deaths had spiked particularly in two periods \u2014 in August-September and December \u2014 coinciding with \u201cthe announcement of the elections and advancements by the military on the battlefield as it attempted to secure its territorial reach\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It called on countries to refer the Myanmar situation to the International Criminal court and to \u201ccease and prevent the transfer to Myanmar of arms…, as well jet fuel and dual-use items, where there is a risk that they could facilitate violations\u201d of international law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GENEVA(National Times)- Myanmar\u2019s military was responsible for more than 700 civilian deaths over the six-month election period last year, the United Nations said on Monday. A fresh UN report covering the period from last August, when Myanmar\u2019s military announced elections would be held, through the conclusion of the voting period at the end of January, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n