More than 100,000 people have been killed across all sides in Myanmar since the military coup in February 2021 triggered a civil war, according to data from the monitoring group Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) published July 1, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The death toll figure of 100,114 is based on tallies of media reports of violence, with no official count and widely varying estimates [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
The military coup ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, ending Myanmar’s decade-long experiment with democracy [1, 4, 5]. After the coup, anti-putsch protests were harshly suppressed, and pro-democracy activists formed guerrilla groups fighting alongside ethnic minority armies [1, 4, 5]. Military chief Min Aung Hlaing ruled Myanmar for five years before retiring from the armed forces and becoming civilian president in April 2026 after restricted elections dismissed as a sham by democracy monitors [1, 4, 5]. Rebel groups rejected calls for peace talks [1, 4, 5].
The conflict has displaced more than 3.7 million people internally, according to the United Nations, and more than one in five Myanmar residents face acute food insecurity due to the fighting and economic collapse [1, 5]. The civil war is Asia’s deadliest active conflict over the past five years [1, 4, 5].
Villages have been destroyed and civilians killed in frequent brutal and indiscriminate violence, with accounts from the central Magway region and elsewhere of children and young adults dying in combat [2, 3, 4, 5]. One man from Myit Chay town said, "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" [1]. Residents describe daily air strikes and entrenched warfare in many regions, while Yangon has seen occasional targeted assassinations [1, 5].
Thein Aye Nu said, "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" [1]. Soe Gyi lamented, "How many more young people will have to die? Only the elderly and the very young children are left. The generation in between has been cut down" [2]. Thaung Sein added, "In this war, they are simply killing people indiscriminately. There is no regard at all for whether someone lives or dies" [3].
The conflict-related death toll was released on July 1, 2026, marking over five years since the coup and ongoing fighting, with no resolution currently in sight [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
