ACLED Warns Myanmar Junta Intensified Airstrikes and Mass Killings After March Command Shake-Up

July 27 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military has sharply stepped up attacks on civilians since a reconfiguration of its command in late March, the conflict monitor ACLED said on Monday, even as regional governments increase diplomatic engagement with the junta.

The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) said the surge reflects tactics introduced by the new military commander, who took charge as his predecessor prepared to assume the presidency. The monitor noted an intensification of aerial bombing and other forms of violent repression directed at civilian populations.

ACLED said the changes included "the regular deployment of specialised groups of two to five jet fighters executing sustained airstrikes against single targets," a shift that has contributed to higher civilian casualties.

A Myanmar government spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

ACLED compiles its data from media reports, local partners, United Nations documents, international monitoring groups and domestic human rights organisations. The organisation said the campaign of violence follows the 2021 coup that removed Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government and sparked a civil war that monitors estimate has killed roughly 100,000 people and displaced millions.

FILE PHOTO: Myanmar military personnel participate in a parade commemorating the 81st Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, March 27, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Days before taking office as president after an election that excluded most opposition figures, coup leader Min Aung Hlaing appointed a long-time loyalist and former spymaster, Ye Win Oo, as commander-in-chief. Under Ye Win Oo's leadership, the military has launched renewed offensives in several border areas, including a frontier zone that contains important rare earth deposits and key trade routes.

MASS KILLINGS

In the first half of 2026, ACLED recorded more than a dozen mass killings that together resulted in over 450 civilian deaths, with about 40% of those fatalities occurring in the central dry zone often referred to as the Anyar region.

In May, residents in parts of Myit Chay township—across the river from the ancient temples of Bagan—told local reporters that hundreds of junta troops swept through the area and killed at least 40 people. Reuters was unable to independently verify those accounts. ACLED's event database lists at least one incident in the area with five fatalities and cites local media.

"About 700 soldiers came into the town, grabbed the belongings of the people here and then beat them and killed them," said Ye Naung, 35.

ACLED warned that a respite for civilians appears unlikely while the junta concentrates on consolidating control after Min Aung Hlaing's transition from military commander to civilian president in April.

The political transition has coincided with renewed diplomacy: Min Aung Hlaing has travelled to neighbouring powers including India and China as the regime seeks recognition. There has also been tentative re-engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which barred Myanmar's ruling generals from summit-level participation after the 2021 coup. Min Aung Hlaing is scheduled to visit Thailand on August 6-7 as part of efforts to broaden international acceptance.

(Reporting by Reuters staff; Editing by Devjyot Ghoshal and Kate Mayberry)