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Bombs to Ballots: Myanmar Junta’s Bloody Race for Recognition Exposing the junta’s campaign of terror to stage a sham election

October 1, 2025/in Briefing Papers, ND-Burma's Reports

Exposing the junta’s campaign of terror to stage a sham election As the junta continues to illegally and unjustly expand their military through forced conscription, the upcoming 2025 sham election is yet another calculated attempt by the junta to bolster its legitimacy. Civil society organizations have widely condemned these efforts, describing them as ‘political theatre’[1] […]

Rakhine School Massacre Met With Chorus of Condemnation

September 15, 2025/in News

A chorus of condemnation both from Myanmar and abroad has greeted the junta’s bombing of two private schools in Rakhine state’s Kyauktaw Township on Sept. 12 that killed 20 youngsters. The ethnic United League of Arakan (ULA) on Saturday blasted the arial massacre as a war crime. The ULA, whose armed wing the Arakan Army […]

Bombs to Ballots: Myanmar Junta’s Bloody Race for Recognition Exposing the junta’s campaign of terror to stage a sham election

October 1, 2025/in Briefing Papers, ND-Burma's Reports

Rakhine School Massacre Met With Chorus of Condemnation

September 15, 2025/in News

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Bombs to Ballots: Myanmar Junta’s Bloody Race for Recognition Exposing the junta’s campaign of terror to stage a sham election

October 1, 2025/in Briefing Papers, ND-Burma's Reports

Exposing the junta’s campaign of terror to stage a sham election

As the junta continues to illegally and unjustly expand their military through forced conscription, the upcoming 2025 sham election is yet another calculated attempt by the junta to bolster its legitimacy. Civil society organizations have widely condemned these efforts, describing them as ‘political theatre’^[1] and ‘laughable.’^[2] Analysts and election monitors have cited the election as a ‘sham’ and have warned that the lead-up and aftermath of the election will be plagued with violence.^[3] Burma Campaign UK noted that the election is simply the junta’s latest attempt to ‘rebrand, renew, and try to convince the people of Burma and the international community that reforms are finally happening.’^[4] In reality, the sham election plans pose life-threatening risks to civilians as the junta aggressively tries to regain lost territories through airstrikes, drones, and shelling.

While the junta rushes to compile voting lists and demonstrate voting machines, conflict persists across the region, with millions in urgent need of humanitarian aid. Regional leaders, including those from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), are being consistently advised not to be misled by the junta’s tactics but to instead support the revolutionary movement on the ground, led by local stakeholders and grassroots leaders.

Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the ongoing violence amid the junta’s relentless assaults. The military attacks are intensifying as the election approaches, with the junta trying to reclaim territories and bases lost to the armed resistance. While the regime has announced its planned areas to hold elections in 102 townships on 28 December,^[5] ethnic resistance and armed groups largely control much of the indicated territory, including in Shan and Rakhine States.^[6] The junta has also announced that polls will only be held in 172 of the 228 eligible townships nationwide at unspecified dates in January 2026.^[7] Burma has a total of 330 townships in which conflict has been active in 70% of them.^[8]

The constituencies cover 56 townships nationwide where the regime’s administrative and security structures have broken down.^[9] With 57 registered political parties, only six will participate in the election, as four parties have been dissolved for allegedly failing to meet the junta’s voting criteria. ^[10] On 14 September, the junta stated that it wouldn’t hold elections for three parliaments in 10 of the 14 townships in Rakhine, which is controlled by the Arakan Army.^[11] This has led to further concerns over implementation and the validity of any ballots cast amid the ongoing turmoil, including daily airstrikes on displaced communities by the junta.

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Rakhine School Massacre Met With Chorus of Condemnation

September 15, 2025/in News

A chorus of condemnation both from Myanmar and abroad has greeted the junta’s bombing of two private schools in Rakhine state’s Kyauktaw Township on Sept. 12 that killed 20 youngsters.

The ethnic United League of Arakan (ULA) on Saturday blasted the arial massacre as a war crime.

The ULA, whose armed wing the Arakan Army (AA) has seized most of Rakhine, also urged the international community to take “effective and decisive action against the brutal regime.”

In the small hours of last Friday, a regime jet dropped two 500-lb bombs on the two private boarding schools of Pyinnya Pan Khinn and Amyin Thit in Thayat Tabin in AA-controlled Kyauktaw Township.

The airstrikes killed 20 students aged 15 to 21 and injured 22 others while destroying school buildings as well as civilian homes nearby, the ULA said.

“We strongly condemn the regime’s war crimes and crimes against humanity as the regime continues to commit heinous acts of mass killing against innocent civilians across the country with impunity,” the rebel group added.

The group vowed to submit the evidence of the regime’s war crimes to international organization and “seek tirelessly to ensure justice for the crimes committed against a generation of Arakan youth.”

“We will take strong retaliatory measures against those who committed, ordered or were involved in these crimes,” it added.

Overseas, UNICEF expressed “extreme concern” over the massacre.

The UN children’s agency said the attack “adds to a pattern of increasingly devastating violence in Rakhine State, with children and families paying the ultimate price.”

“Children are losing their lives in the very spaces meant to protect them—their homes, schools, and neighborhoods,” it said in a statement, calling for an end to violence against children and for schools, dormitories, homes, and the essential services they rely on to be safeguarded.

The statement declined to name the perpetrator of the attack, and instead called on “all parties” to uphold their obligations under international law to protect civilians including children.

From Jan. 8 to Aug. 25, the regime conducted four airstrikes on AA-held towns and villages, killing 89 civilians, including 28 family members of junta soldiers held prisoners of war, according to ULA.

In May, the regime used cluster bombs to attack a school run by civilian National Unity Government (NUG) in Depayin Township, Sagaing Region, killing 22 schoolchildren aged seven to 16 and two volunteer teachers. Another 102 people, mostly schoolchildren and teachers, were injured.

The regime denied responsibility for the airstrike, while junta-backed pro-military lobbyists claimed the attack targeted “terrorists” who were manufacturing bombs in the school.

Between January 2023 and August 2025, the regime conducted 3,402 airstrikes that killed 3,689 people including 546 children, according to the parallel National Unity Government (NUG).

The airstrikes also destroyed 289 schools, 112 clinics and hospitals, and 512 religious buildings.

Irrawaddy News

Other Human Rights Reports

Myanmar Mechanism investigations reveal deliberate attacks on civilians by the Myanmar military – Annual ReportAugust 12, 2026 - 9:49 am
Geneva, 11 August 2026 – Investigations by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (Mechanism), as detailed in its Annual Report released today, show a pattern of deliberate aerial attacks on civilians, arbitrary detentions, torture and sexual violence committed by the Myanmar military. The Myanmar military escalated its aerial attacks and other crimes against civilians in the lead-up to […]

Spring Revolution

Civil Society Position Paper on ASEAN’s Goal of a Myanmar-Owned and -Led SolutionDecember 18, 2024 - 12:11 pm
Recommendations to ASEAN and Its Member States (1) Move beyond the 5PC to achieve a Myanmar people-led and people-centered solution to the crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN’s “Myanmar-owned and -led” approach must be backed by genuine political will that aligns with and supports the collective aspirations of the people of Myanmar. (2) Cease all pressure on […]
The Airstrikes after the journey to the China of the Junta Military LeaderDecember 10, 2024 - 1:28 pm
Operation 1027 was a coordinated military attack against the junta on October 27th, 2023. It was carried out by the Northern Brotherhood, which includes the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. Several months later, the Three Brotherhood Alliance held three meetings to negotiate with China on January 11 […]

Multimedia

GenocideSeptember 2, 2025 - 9:42 am
Crimes Against HumanityJune 16, 2025 - 7:55 am
International Humanitarian Law Cartoon AnimatonApril 29, 2025 - 8:37 am
အတိတ်မှ ဆိုးရွားသည့် အကြီးအကျယ် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများ ထပ်မံမဖြစ်ပွားစေရေးအ တွက် အာမခံခြင်း (Guarantees of non-recurrence)February 10, 2025 - 9:58 am

ND Burma

ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.

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