Post-coup death toll nears 1,100, with over 6,400 detained: AAPP

By DMG 16 Sep 2021

DMG Newsroom
16 September 2021, Sittwe 

At least 1,089 people have been killed and 6,477 arrested in Myanmar since the February 1 coup, according to a press release from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) on September 14. 

The figures represent a tally collected by the AAPP, and the actual death toll and imprisonment total could be higher, the AAPP said. 

At least 6,477 people were detained between February 1 and September 14, of which 275 were sentenced to prison time and 26 have been sentenced to death — including two minors — according to the AAPP. 

The AAPP said a total of 65 people had been sentenced to death either in person or in absentia, and 1,984 people were considered fugitives of the law under the military regime.  

The Myanmar military says a number of its security forces were killed in the aftermath of the coup, but specific details have been sparse. The AAPP statement did not mention the deaths of security personnel. 

The AAPP has been documenting civilian deaths at the hands of security forces in Myanmar since the February 1 coup. 

Myanmar’s former civilian government, led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was overthrown by the military on February 1. Since then, there have been regular protests across the country against the junta that replaced Suu Kyi’s administration. 

Security forces have cracked down on the demonstrators, often brutally, and the protest movement has gradually transformed into a more organised and armed resistance. Local People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) have been formed in many areas and there have been several retaliatory attacks on junta troops.