At least 170 civilians killed in Myanmar air strikes during election: UN

UN reports at least 170 civilian deaths from military air strikes in Myanmar during controversial elections between December 2025 and January 2026.

At least 170 civilians were killed in more than 400 military air strikes conducted in Myanmar during nearly two months surrounding its widely-criticised elections, the United Nations said on Friday (January 30, 2026).

The UN rights office said "credible sources" had verified that at least "170 civilians were killed in some 408 military aerial attacks reported by open sources during the voting period — between December 2025 and January 2026".

James Rodehaver, head of the rights office's Myanmar team, warned that the actual numbers might be higher.

Speaking from Bangkok, he told reporters in Geneva that the verification covered a period from December to late last week, from the beginning of the election campaign and up until the three phases of voting were nearly complete.

But he warned that "because of the way in which communications are cut off and because of, frankly, the fear of individuals in some of these locations to speak to us, it sometimes takes a lot longer to get that information".

His comments came amid global outrage over Myanmar's month-long vote that democracy watchdogs dismissed as a rebranding of army rule, five years after a coup that ousted popular democratic figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi.