During 1 Feb 2021 - 30 Jan 2026, there were 62,596 armed clashes and attacks against civilians, which killed 16,874 civilians in 327 townships.38 This means that conflict has reached 99% of Burma (327 out of 330 townships) since 2021. In 2025 alone, there were 11,763 armed clashes and attacks against civilians, which killed 3,397 civilians. 39 While the conflict figures remain high, the junta has intensified aerial attacks using aircraft, jet fighters, gyrocopters, paramotors, surveillance drones, and suicide drones. During 1 Feb 2021 - 30 Jan 2026, the junta launched 6,433 airstrikes in 190 townships, i.e. in 57% of the 330 townships of Burma. Since 2021, the junta has dramatically increased its number of airstrikes, killing more civilians every year.40 Attacks and Airstrikes during the Sham Election ● Junta violence increased from election Phase 1 - Phase 3, the number of airstrikes worsened from phase to phase, and killed increasing numbers of civilians. ● The increased violence and plans for more forced conscription are serious indicators that conflict will not ease in 2026. ● During the 6 weeks of the sham election period (20 Dec ‘25 - 30 Jan ‘26), 1,288 attacks, including 308 airstrikes, killed 281 civilians. ● There was no significant reduction of violence despite the election. During the same period a year prior (20 Dec 2024 - 30 Jan 2025), the junta launched 220 airstrikes (i.e. nearly 30% less). There were 1,384 armed clashes and attacks against civilians, which killed 351 civilians.41 Throughout the 3 phases of the sham election, the junta executed a systematic campaign of terror to secure polling territory and coerce voter participation. The junta’s strategy relied heavily on aerial attacks to compensate for a lack of ground control, with targeted airstrikes on civilian infrastructure, mass arson, and the deliberate displacement of rural populations in resistance-controlled areas. Phase 1 of the sham election was marked by immediate violence to clear areas for polling. During 20 Dec 2025 - 2 Jan 2026 (Phase 1 voting day on 28 Dec), there were 425 armed clashes and attacks, including 84 airstrikes, which killed 84 civilians across 121 townships. Voting was carried out in 102 townships. 42 On 27 Dec, in Khin-U Township (Sagaing Region), junta air forces massacred 9 civilians and injured 10 others in a targeted bombing of a truck rest stop immediately following drone reconnaissance. 43 On 30 Dec, in Arakan State’s Thandwe Township, a junta airstrike on a house in Ngapali town killed 9 civilians, including children, and injured at least 10 others. 44 During 3 - 16 Jan 2026 (Phase 2 voting day on 11 Jan), violence escalated with 475 attacks on civilians across 125 townships. Only 100 townships were included in Phase 2 polling. The junta launched 109 airstrikes, 30% more than in Phase 1, and killed 80 civilians. On 8 Jan alone, in Wetlet and Wuntho townships (Sagaing Region), the junta dropped 60 bombs, destroying homes and infrastructure in resistance-controlled villages.45 On 15 Jan, in Natogyi Township (Mandalay Region), 2 junta fighter jets 38 ACLED (04 Feb 2026) Data Accessed 04 Feb 2026 ACLED (04 Feb 2026) Data Accessed 04 Feb 2026 40 ACLED (04 Feb 2026) Data Accessed 04 Feb 2026 41 ACLED (04 Feb 2026) Data Accessed 04 Feb 2026 42 ACLED (04 Feb 2026) Data Accessed 04 Feb 2026 43 Myanmar Now (28 Dec 2025) ခင်ဦ်းပမ ြို့နယ်တွင် စာ်းတသာက်ဆိုင်တန်း ဗို်းကကဲ၊ပစ်ခတ်ခ ပပီ်း ၉ ဦ်းတသ 39 44 BBC Burmese (30 Dec 2025) AA ထန်းချ ပ် သတွဲ၊ ငပလီပမ ြို့တပေါ် တလthe တ ကာင်းတိုက်ခ မ ၉ ဦ်း ထက်မနည်း တသဆို်း 45 DVB (9 Jan 2026) ဝက် လက်နငို့် ဝန်းသိုပမ ြို့ နယ် တိုက ို့ ို စစ်တပ် က ဗို်း အလို်း ၆၀ နီ်းပါ်းကကဲခ ျ၊ လူတနအမ် မျာ်းမီ်းတလာင် 9