Myanmar Civil War Claims Over 100,000 Lives Since 2021 Coup

Myanmar has endured a devastating civil war since the military's 2021 coup, resulting in over 100,000 fatalities across all sides. The conflict monitor Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) reported 100,114 conflict-related deaths as of Wednesday, highlighting the immense human cost of the ongoing violence.

The military's ouster of the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 plunged the nation into turmoil. While initial anti-putsch protests were suppressed, many activists joined pro-democracy guerrilla groups, fighting alongside ethnic minority armies that have long resisted central rule. Analysts consider the half-decade civil war to be Asia's deadliest active conflict, though official casualty figures are unavailable and estimates vary widely.

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The pain is just endless. I am so deeply resentful and very angry. But I don't even know who to be angry at anymore. I just have to console myself by accepting it as fate.

"The pain is just endless," said 49-year-old Thein Aye Nu, whose husband was killed in a recent airstrike in Rakhine state. "I am so deeply resentful and very angry. But I don't even know who to be angry at anymore. I just have to console myself by accepting it as fate."

The conflict has had catastrophic consequences beyond fatalities. More than 3.7 million people are internally displaced, according to the United Nations, and over one in five face acute food insecurity. The country is sliding back into poverty, with violence manifesting in various forms, from assassinations in Yangon to daily airstrikes by military jets in other regions. In 2023, Myanmar was the second-most conflict-affected area globally, surpassed only by the Palestinian territories.

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If there was no coup, children would be studying at schools. We didn't even get a chance to properly chant Buddhist funeral rites. Heavy artillery was being fired. He left so many memories -- I am not satisfied to have done so little for him.