UN Myanmar expert says conflict has killed more than 100,000

UN special rapporteur Kelley Anne Eckels-Currie told the General Assembly’s Third Committee on 27 October that more than 100,000 people had died in Myanmar’s conflict since the military coup of February 2021. She said the vast majority were civilians, as she warned that attacks had intensified under military leader Min Aung Hlaing.

The 100,000 threshold was not first reported at the meeting. In July, AFP reported that conflict monitor ACLED had recorded 100,114 deaths since the coup, across all sides of the fighting. It is unclear whether Eckels-Currie used that tally for her estimate.

The distinction matters for her claim about civilians. ACLED says its figures do not systematically identify which group suffered the deaths recorded in each event, so its total cannot establish what proportion were civilians. Its estimates are drawn from reports of violence, without separate verification on the ground.

Other organisations count different groups of victims. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said 8,614 people, including civilians and pro-democracy activists, had been killed by the junta and pro-military groups by 27 October. ISP-Myanmar recorded at least 9,443 civilian deaths amid armed conflict from the coup to May 2025. Neither figure measures the civilian share of all conflict deaths through October 2026; their different scope also means the totals cannot be directly compared.

The committee heard wider warnings about continuing violence. Nicholas Koumjian, head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, said it was investigating attacks that hit homes, hospitals and schools, as well as a growing number of allegations against armed groups opposed to the military. UN envoy Julie Bishop urged countries engaging with Myanmar’s military authorities to seek an end to the violence and unhindered access for aid workers.