The United Nations has reported that at least 170 civilians were killed in more than 400 airstrikes conducted by Myanmar’s military during a two-month voting period. The information was released from Geneva on Friday, citing data verified by the UN human rights office. According to the report, the attacks occurred between December 2025 and January 2026, coinciding with the country’s election process.

The UN human rights office stated that the figures were based on credible sources and confirmed that approximately 408 airstrikes took place during the election period. The organization also warned that the actual death toll could be higher than the confirmed number of 170.

The report underscores growing international concern over civilian safety in Myanmar amid ongoing military operations during politically sensitive periods.

A military-backed political party in Myanmar has claimed victory in the junta-run national election, according to a report from Yangon by AFP on Monday. A senior official from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) told AFP that the party had already secured a majority, though he requested anonymity because preliminary results had not yet been released.

The official stated that the USDP was now in a position to form a new government. The election was organized under the direction of the military authorities currently governing Myanmar. No official results or independent verification of the party’s claim were available at the time of reporting.

The absence of published results leaves uncertainty about the scale of the USDP’s claimed majority and the broader political response within Myanmar.

Myanmar held the final phase of its month-long general election on Sunday, organized under the military junta’s authority. The army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is widely expected to secure a decisive victory. Critics argue that the election aims to extend military rule under the guise of civilian legitimacy. Voting began at 6 a.m. in several constituencies, though large areas under rebel control could not participate.

The country, long under military dominance, had moved toward limited civilian reforms in the 2010s before the 2021 coup halted that process and led to civil conflict and humanitarian crisis. The junta has promised to return power to the people, but the exclusion of detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the dissolution of her National League for Democracy (NLD) have fueled claims that the polls are rigged in favor of the military’s allies.

Analysts note that the USDP, dominated by former military officers, already won most seats in earlier rounds. The new parliament will elect the next president, with junta chief Min Aung Hlaing seen as a possible contender. Official results are expected later this week.

At least 27 people were killed in separate airstrikes carried out by Myanmar’s military junta on a wedding gathering and a funeral, according to a report by local outlet The Irrawaddy on Thursday. The attacks occurred in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township and Magway Region’s Aunglan Township, leaving many others injured, including women and children.

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) stated that 22 civilians died and at least 28 were injured when the junta bombed Kaung Zar village in Hpakant during a funeral. The village, home to displaced families, lies near the Irrawaddy River close to Hpakant town. KIA spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu said there were no KIA members in the area and accused the junta of deliberately targeting civilians. Earlier the same day, another airstrike on a wedding preparation in Magway’s Tat Kone village killed at least five people, including a child.

Days earlier, the junta also bombed a prison run by the Arakan Army in Rakhine State, killing 21 detained soldiers and relatives and injuring 30 others.

At least 21 people were killed and 28 others injured when Myanmar’s military junta carried out an airstrike on a village near Bhamo in northern Kachin State. The attack occurred Thursday afternoon in Hotilin village, west of Bhamo, during a prayer ceremony for the dead. According to Colonel Naw Bu, spokesperson for the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), a jet bombed the mourning site, a camp for displaced people, a school, and a market. Around 500 people, including displaced residents, were present at the time, and several of the wounded are in critical condition.

The strike comes amid ongoing conflict across Myanmar since the military seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government on February 1, 2021. Following the coup, peaceful protests were met with deadly force, pushing many opposition groups to take up arms. Non-governmental data indicate that more than 7,700 people have been killed by security forces since then.

The KIA, allied with pro-democracy forces, has been fighting the junta, which has recently intensified air attacks ahead of a planned election in Bhamo. KIA claims control of the city’s outskirts, making the vote unlikely to proceed.

The junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has taken a commanding lead in Myanmar’s second round of the disputed general election. According to Al Jazeera, the party won 90 out of 102 seats contested in the latest phase. In the first round held on December 28, the USDP secured 86 of 102 seats. Combined results from the two rounds give the party 182 out of 330 total seats, surpassing the threshold for a simple majority. The election is being conducted in three phases across the country.

Voting for the first phase covered 202 constituencies on December 28, while the second phase took place on January 11. The final phase of voting is scheduled for January 25, with complete results for both national and regional legislatures expected by the end of January. Military spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun stated last weekend that parliamentary sessions for both houses will be convened in March, and a new government is expected to assume office in April.

The ongoing election process remains controversial, with final outcomes anticipated to shape Myanmar’s political direction in the coming months.

Myanmar on Friday dismissed allegations of genocide against the Rohingya minority as “baseless” during proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. The government argued that Gambia, which filed the case in 2019, failed to provide sufficient evidence. Myanmar’s representatives claimed the 2017 military operations in Rakhine State were legitimate counterterrorism actions, not acts of genocide, and insisted that the case lacked factual grounding.

Gambia, supported by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, accuses Myanmar of violating the 1948 UN Genocide Convention through mass killings, rapes, and arson that forced over 730,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. A UN fact-finding mission previously concluded that the 2017 campaign included genocidal acts. Myanmar’s minister Ko Ko Hlaing told the court that judgments should rely on verified facts, not emotion or speculation, and said repatriation efforts were hindered by the pandemic, natural disasters, and political unrest.

The ICJ will hear evidence from both sides over the next three weeks before deciding whether Myanmar breached the Genocide Convention. A final ruling is expected by late 2026 and could increase international pressure on Myanmar if it favors Gambia.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has begun hearings in a genocide case against Myanmar over its treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority. The proceedings opened on Monday in The Hague, with Gambian Foreign Minister Dawda Jallow stating that Myanmar sought to erase the Rohingya population through acts of genocide. The case was originally filed in 2019 by Gambia, a Muslim-majority nation in West Africa, accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against the minority group.

During the opening session, Jallow said Gambia had reviewed reports of severe human rights violations against a vulnerable community, describing decades of persecution and dehumanizing propaganda that led to military operations aimed at the Rohingya’s destruction. He added that Gambia brought the case out of a sense of responsibility informed by its own experience with military rule.

According to Al Jazeera, the hearings will continue for three weeks, with Myanmar given time to respond to Gambia’s allegations by the end of the month. The court has scheduled three closed sessions to hear witnesses, including Rohingya survivors. Although the ICJ cannot prosecute individuals, its rulings carry significant weight for the United Nations and other international bodies.

Myanmar’s ruling military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has won the parliamentary seat formerly held by detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi. A senior USDP official told AFP on Monday that the party secured victory in the Kawhmu constituency, located in Yangon Region. The official added that the USDP won 15 of 16 lower house seats in the region. Voting in Kawhmu and several other constituencies took place on Sunday as part of the second phase of a three-stage national election.

Suu Kyi was ousted and detained following the 2021 military coup, after the junta alleged widespread fraud in the previous year’s election, which her National League for Democracy (NLD) had won by a landslide. The final phase of the month-long election is scheduled for January 25, with the junta claiming the process will return power to the people.

Pro-democracy groups have accused the authorities of staging a controlled election that suppresses dissent and favors military-linked candidates, particularly after the NLD was dissolved and Suu Kyi remained under house arrest.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has begun a landmark trial against Myanmar over allegations of genocide against the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority. The hearing, which started on Monday at 10 a.m. local time, will continue for three weeks. Myanmar has denied the genocide accusations. This is the first full genocide trial to be held at the ICJ, and due to sensitivity and confidentiality, the proceedings will remain closed to the public and media.

The case was filed in 2019 by the West African nation of The Gambia, accusing Myanmar of committing genocide in Rakhine State. The complaint was based on a 2017 UN fact-finding mission report that described Myanmar’s military operations as “genocidal acts.” The UN’s independent investigative mechanism chief, Nicholas Koumjian, said the case could set an important precedent for defining and proving genocide and determining remedies for violations.

The outcome of this trial may have implications beyond Myanmar, potentially influencing other genocide-related cases, including South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ over the Gaza conflict.

Myanmar’s military junta began the second phase of national voting on Sunday, marking the continuation of a three-stage election process set to conclude on January 25. Polling started at 6 a.m. local time in Kawhmu, the former constituency of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, located about 25 kilometers south of Yangon. Democracy observers and rights activists have alleged that the election is designed to prolong military rule under a civilian façade.

Since independence, Myanmar has spent most of its history under military control. A brief period of democratic reform about a decade ago ended when the army seized power again in 2021, annulling the previous election results and arresting Suu Kyi. The coup plunged the country into civil conflict. Analysts noted that the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) already won about 90 percent of lower house seats in the first phase.

With Suu Kyi imprisoned and her National League for Democracy dissolved, pro-democracy groups claim the current election favors military-aligned parties. Many citizens reportedly show little interest, believing the outcome is predetermined by the army.

At least 40 soldiers of Myanmar’s junta were killed in coordinated attacks by anti-junta resistance fighters in Yesdase town of Bago region, south of the capital Naypyidaw. The assaults took place on Tuesday, according to a statement released Thursday by the Naypyidaw People’s Defense Force (PDF). The group said it targeted junta positions on both sides of the Sittang River, focusing on military outposts in Doyetan, Khintanle, and Omyatu villages.

The PDF reported that the first attack began around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday near a camp in Doyetan, where about 40 soldiers were stationed, killing two and seizing ammunition. About an hour later, resistance fighters ambushed a convoy of 70 junta troops sent to reinforce the camp, killing at least 20. A separate midday assault in Omyatu village left another 20 soldiers dead, with three captured and a large cache of weapons and ammunition seized.

The PDF claimed full control of Omyatu village following the attacks, marking one of the deadliest recent clashes in the Bago region.

At least 40 soldiers of Myanmar’s junta were killed in coordinated attacks by anti-junta resistance fighters in Yesdase town of Bago region, south of the capital Naypyidaw. The assaults took place on Tuesday, according to a statement released Thursday by the Naypyidaw People’s Defense Force (PDF). The group said it targeted junta positions on both sides of the Sittang River, focusing on military outposts in Doyetan, Khintanle, and Omyatu villages.

The PDF reported that the first attack began around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday near a camp in Doyetan, where about 40 soldiers were stationed, killing two and seizing ammunition. About an hour later, resistance fighters ambushed a convoy of 70 junta troops sent to reinforce the camp, killing at least 20. A separate midday assault in Omyatu village left another 20 soldiers dead, with three captured and a large cache of weapons and ammunition seized.

The PDF claimed full control of Omyatu village following the attacks, marking one of the deadliest recent clashes in the Bago region.

Myanmar’s military junta has announced the release of more than 6,000 prisoners as part of a general amnesty marking the country’s Independence Day. According to a statement from the junta’s National Defense and Security Council, the acting president of the Union of the Republic of Myanmar granted pardons to 6,134 male and female inmates held in prisons, detention centers, and camps across the country.

The announcement, reported by AFP, follows a long-standing tradition in Myanmar where authorities issue general amnesties each year to commemorate Independence Day. The statement did not specify the identities or categories of those released, nor did it indicate whether any political detainees were included.

Such annual amnesties are a customary gesture by the authorities during national celebrations, reflecting a symbolic act of leniency tied to the country’s founding anniversary.

Myanmar concluded the first phase of its general election on Sunday, marking the country’s first nationwide vote since the 2021 military coup. According to Eleven Myanmar, polling took place across 102 cities, with voting beginning at 6 a.m. and closing at 4 p.m. local time. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that 139 representatives from diplomatic missions and international election observers monitored the process. The second and third phases are scheduled for January 11 and January 25, respectively, with a total of 21,517 polling stations established nationwide.

The election comes under the shadow of prolonged military rule following the ouster of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) government in 2021. Although the NLD and 40 other parties were dissolved in 2023, at least six parties with 4,963 candidates are participating, alongside 57 regional parties. The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party has fielded about 1,018 candidates. Junta leader and acting president Min Aung Hlaing claimed the election was free and fair after casting his vote in Naypyidaw.

UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews urged the international community via social media to reject the legitimacy of the election.