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Senior General Min Aung Hlaing (left), commander-in-chief of Myanmar's junta, hands over a flag to General Ye Win Oo, newly appointed commander-in-chief, during a ceremony held in Naypyidaw on March 30. / Reuters, Yonhap News

Myanmar military has sharply escalated attacks targeting civilians after restructuring its military leadership in March.

On July 28 (local time), Reuters reported citing the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a conflict monitor, that over a dozen mass killings took place in the first half of this year alone, leaving more than 450 civilians dead.

ACLED stated that "since the ruling Myanmar junta reorganized its military command structure in March, civilians have been exposed to escalating repression and intensified airstrikes." It explained that new tactics include regularly deploying special formations of two to five fighter jets to carry out sustained airstrikes on a single target. ACLED analyzed that this surge in attacks stems from the tactics of the new military commander-in-chief, who took office in late March.

Myanmar was plunged into civil war after the military ousted the democratically elected government led by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, leaving about 100,000 people dead and millions displaced so far. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup, assumed the presidency in April following elections in which most opposition parties were barred, and prior to that appointed his longtime confidant and former military intelligence chief Ye Win Oo as commander-in-chief. Under Ye Win Oo's command, the Myanmar military resumed offensives in several border regions, including key rare earth deposit areas and major trade routes.

About 40% of the mass killing victims were concentrated in the central dry zone known as Anyar. Three local residents told Reuters that in May, hundreds of soldiers swept through the Myitche area across the river from the ancient Buddhist site Bagan, killing at least 40 people. Ye Naung, 35, a local resident, said, "About 700 soldiers entered the village, looted residents' belongings, and then beat and killed them."

This incident is listed in the ACLED database as an event with at least five fatalities and was also reported by local media. ACLED compiles data by gathering news reports, local partner organizations, and reports from the U.N., international monitoring groups, and local human rights organizations.

ACLED assessed that "the military's tactics this year show that the intensity of civilian repression has not decreased, but merely shifted in method."

                                                                                                               Jeong Li-na