Myanmar’s military ‌has sharply escalated attacks on civilians since a new administration took office ​in the war-torn country, a conflict monitor said on Monday (July 27, 2026), even as regional governments ⁠ramp up diplomatic engagement.

The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) said the onslaught was a result of the tactics deployed by Myanmar’s new military Chief, who took over in late March as his predecessor ‌prepared to become the country’s President.

“Since the ruling junta in Myanmar reconfigured its military command structure in March, civilians have been subject to the military’s worsening ‌repression and intensified aerial bombing campaign,” ACLED said.

“These adjustments included the regular deployment ‌of specialised ⁠groups of two to five jet fighters executing sustained airstrikes against single targets.”

A ⁠Myanmar government spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters.

ACLED gathers data on Myanmar’s ongoing conflict from media reports and local partners, as well as reports by the UN, international monitoring groups and local human rights organisations. Myanmar ​was plunged into turmoil after the ‌military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in February 2021, sparking a civil war that has killed some 100,000 people and displaced millions.

Days before becoming president after an election that banned most opposition, Min Aung Hlaing appointed long-time loyalist and former spymaster Ye Win ‌Oo as the military’s new commander-in-Chief. Under his command, the military has launched renewed ​offensives into several border regions, including a frontier area with critical rare earth deposits and other vital trade routes.

“Reprieve for civilians is unlikely as ⁠the junta focuses its efforts on consolidating control following coup leader Min Aung Hlaing’s transition from commander of the military to civilian president in April,” ACLED said.

Masss Killings

During the first half of ‌2026, ACLED said it recorded more than a dozen mass killings, resulting in over 450 civilian fatalities, around 40% of them in Myanmar’s central dry zone known as the Anyar region.

In May, hundreds of junta troops swept through parts of Myit Chay township, across the river from the ancient temples of Bagan, killing at least 40 people, three residents of the area told Reuters.

“About 700 soldiers came into the town, grabbed the belongings of the people here ‌and then beat them and killed them,” said Ye Naung, 35. Reuters could not independently verify accounts of ​the incident at Myit Chay, which is part of ACLED’s event database with at least five fatalities and was reported by local media. “The military’s tactics in ⁠2026 so far show merely shifting modalities of civilian repression rather than any reduction in its severity,” ⁠ACLED said.

The political transition in Myanmar has triggered a flurry of diplomacy, with Min Aung Hlaing travelling to key neighbours India and China. There has also been ‌tentative re-engagement with the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc, which barred Myanmar’s ruling generals from its summits after the coup. Min Aung Hlaing will make an official ​visit to Thailand on August 6 to 7, as he pushes for further legitimacy.

​Myanmar’s Parliament convened on Monday (March 16, 2026) for the first time since a coup five years ago, in ‌one of the final steps in a nominal return to democracy where ​its powerful military retains tight control.

The gathering of the new Parliament ⁠comes after a recent phased election that is dominated by the Army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) amid low voter turnout and no viable Opposition.

USDP chairman and retired brigadier-general Khin Yi was elected Lower House Speaker ‌on Monday (March 16, 2026). Reuters had earlier reported Khin Yi had been touted for the role, which is seen by some analysts as pivotal for the ‌military in advancing its agenda.

Myanmar has been plagued by civil war and a ‌humanitarian crisis ⁠affecting millions of its people since its generals staged a 2021 coup ⁠against the government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, just as it was preparing for a second five-year term in office following a landslide election win.

Many Western countries have dismissed the latest election ​as a sham designed to entrench military ‌rule and earn the generals legitimacy after five years as pariahs tainted by sanctions and barred from top international summits.

Military-dominated legislature

The USDP, created by the military in 2010, won 81% of available seats and will be joined in the bicameral Parliament by ‌scores of military officers hand-picked by the armed forces, which under the ​constitution is allocated a quarter of legislative seats.

The military’s big representation and its influence over the USDP effectively puts the legislature under its control, ⁠giving the top brass the power to determine the Presidency, with junta chief and coup leader Min Aung Hlaing widely expected to take the post himself.

“This level of control makes ‌it clear that one can expect nothing substantial from this body; it is evidently a Parliament that will operate solely at the whim of the military leader,” said Htin Kyaw Aye, an independent analyst.

“It is merely a manoeuvre by the military leadership to shift power from their left hand to their right hand,” he said.

Superbody to be formed

In addition, a new five-member panel, the Union Consultative Council, will be established in ‌what some experts have called a “super-body” that would allow Min Aung Hlaing to maintain his grip ​on both military and civilian administration.

The junta has defied criticism of the election, insisting it reflected the will of the people. It has ⁠said a new government would be formed in April and has predicted an easing of sanctions ⁠and greater international engagement and foreign investment.

A commentary in Monday’s state-run Global New Light of Myanmar on the formation of Parliament said the entire country was hoping ‌for the best political conditions where the national interest is prioritised.

“In carrying out political activities, they must act courageously for the good of the nation, free from ​personal bias, party bias, and feelings of favouritism or hostility,” it said.

Voters in war-torn Myanmar queued up on Sunday (January 11, 2026) to cast their ​ballots in the second stage of a military-run election, following low turnout ‌in the initial round of polls that have been widely criticised ​as a tool to formalise junta rule.

Myanmar has been ravaged by conflict since the military ousted a civilian government in a 2021 coup and detained its leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking a civil war that has engulfed large parts of the impoverished nation of 51 million people.

Ms. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, which swept the last election in 2020, has been dissolved along with ​dozens of other anti-junta parties for failing to register for the latest polls, ⁠while rebel groups have refused to take part.

The United Nations, many Western countries and human rights groups say the election is a sham exercise that is neither free, fair nor credible in the absence ​of a meaningful opposition.

Army allies marching towards victory

The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party is leading by a huge margin after winning 90 of the 102 lower house seats contested in the first phase on December 28, 2025, which saw only 52.13% voter turnout, much lower than elections ‌in 2020 and 2015.

“The USDP is on track for a landslide victory, ‌which is hardly a surprise given the extent to which the playing field was tilted in its favour. This included the removal of any serious ‍rivals and a set of laws designed to stifle opposition to the polls,” said Richard Horsey, Senior Myanmar Adviser for Crisis Group.

A final round will take place on ‍January 25. In all, there will be voting in 265 of Myanmar’s 330 townships, including areas where the junta does not have full control.

Transition promised

The junta has said the election will bring political stability and a better future for the country, which is facing one of the most serious humanitarian crises in Asia.

At least 16,600 civilians have died in the conflict since the coup, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, and the U.N. estimates that 3.6 million people have been displaced. However, analysts warn that the junta’s ⁠attempt to form a stable administration amid raging conflict is fraught with risk and any military-controlled government is unlikely to gain broad international recognition.

Junta ​chief Min Aung Hlaing last month sidestepped a question from a reporter about his political ⁠ambitions.

He hailed the election as a success during a visit last week to central Myanmar township, where he urged authorities to work to further boost turnout.

“In phase one of the election, a large number of votes were cast, showing that the people have a strong desire to participate in the democratic process,” ⁠state media quoted him as saying. “Therefore, the election can be considered a successful one.”