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Nearly 40 civilians have been killed in Myanmar in less than two weeks as the result of assassinations by both pro- and anti-junta forces, prompting rights groups to warn that the violence will likely worsen unless the military yields to popular demand and hands power back to a civilian government.
The killings took place during the 12 days between June 19 and 30, and included local administrators, pro-military informants, and local militia fighters, according to research by RFA’s Myanmar Service and the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
Myanmar’s military overthrew the country’s democratically elected civilian government on Feb. 1 and has violently cracked down on widespread protests. Military leaders say a landslide victory by the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) in the country’s November 2020 elections was the result of widespread voter fraud but have yet to produce any evidence of their claims.