YANGON, Myanmar — At least 265 civilians have been killed in Myanmar over a four-week period as the military junta’s leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, moved to formally install himself as President, according to new data from a prominent research group.
The report by Nyan Lin Thit Research Group highlights a grim paradox: while the military administration was orchestrating a transition to what it calls “civilian governance” in the capital, its forces were intensifying a violent crackdown across the country.
Between March 6 and April 2, 2026, the military launched at least 372 attacks across 176 townships. These operations, which included 96 airstrikes and 102 ground offensives, left 311 people injured and hundreds of families displaced.
“You would think they might reduce attacks to improve their international image while holding a parliament session to change their facade,” a former military officer who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) told MPA. “But Min Aung Hlaing ignores the international community. This is a blatant display that he will continue his reign of terror against anyone who does not support his illegitimate rule.”
The surge in casualties coincided directly with the session of the military-controlled Union Parliament, which began on March 16 and culminated in Min Aung Hlaing’s appointment as President of the sham government on April 3.
The research also documented the arbitrary arrest of 848 civilians during the same four-week window, many of whom are believed to have been detained under the junta’s recently enforced conscription laws.
International human rights monitors have long criticized the junta’s administrative shifts as “political theater” designed to mask a deepening humanitarian crisis. Since the 2021 coup, the military has increasingly relied on its superior air power to strike at opposition strongholds, often hitting schools, hospitals, and residential areas in the process.
“The title of ‘President’ does not change the reality of the war crimes being committed on the ground,” a local human rights activist noted. “For the families of the 265 people killed this month, this transition isn’t about governance—it’s about the continued survival of a dictatorship at the cost of the nation’s blood.”
As Min Aung Hlaing begins his new “presidency,” the figures from Nyan Lin Thit serve as a stark reminder of the widening gap between the military’s propaganda in Naypyidaw and the brutal reality of its struggle to maintain control over a resistant population.
