Myanmar army killed over 700 civilians in six months, UN says

Myanmar's military was responsible for more than 700 civilian deaths over the six-month election period last year, the UN says.

A new report covering from August to January says credible sources have verified a minimum of 702 people were killed, including 224 women and 153 children.

It covers the six months from when the military - who waged a coup five years ago - announced elections, a process widely derided as a sham due to main opposition parties being excluded.

The report warns a "decline in international assistance is further compounding the suffering of millions of people".

The Myanmar military waged a coup in 2021, sparking a civil war where thousands of people were killed and millions displaced.

Large areas of the country remain under the control of armed opposition groups.

The report, from the UN's Human Rights Office, states that air strikes "remained the single largest cause of destruction and suffering".

The region of Sagaing was the "most dangerous region for civilians as the military pressed to gain ground", with 191 deaths, including of 60 women and 30 children, the report says.

During an attack in October 23 people, including four children, were killed and more than 60 others wounded when munitions struck civilians gathered in front of a school in Chaung-U, Sagaing.

"At the time of the attack, participants were holding a candlelit event to celebrate the end of Buddhist Lent, and to call for the release of political prisoners, oppose military conscription and reject military elections," the report states.

In December, it says a military aeroplane bombed a tea shop in Tabayin, Sagaing, as people had gathered to watch a football match, killing at least 19 and wounding 20 others.

The report also references abuse of Rohingya people who have been exposed to forced recruitment by the Arakan Army, as well as to killings, arbitrary arrests and sexual violence.

"As if the people of Myanmar have not suffered enough at the hands of the military, they have now seemingly been forgotten by those outside the country," UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said.

"Funding for localised protection efforts was in many areas the only solace from the suffering caused by constant targeting and indiscriminate attacks by the military. This pullback just compounds that injury."

The military seized power five years ago from the democratically elected government, jailing its leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

More than two years ago, the rebels made a series of sweeping gains, but they have since been put on the back foot. Forced conscription and increased drone power has put the military on the offensive in most parts of the country.

In April, Min Aung Hlaing, the general who launched the coup, became president.

The election was a foregone conclusion, with many popular parties banned from standing and large areas of the country not allowed to participate because of the civil war.

The parliament is filled with his loyalists. The armed forces are guaranteed one quarter of the seats, and the military's own party, the USDP, won nearly 80% of the remaining seats in an election which was tilted heavily in its favour.