Violence in Myanmar has rapidly escalated since February 2021, when the Myanmar Military seized power in the country.

The military's control of power is not new in Myanmar, which, aside from a short five year window of democracy, has been run for the last 50 years by its army. For that five-year window, a balance of shared power was met between the army, and popular leader Aung San Suu Kyi. When she won votes in 2020’s landslide election, the army arrested Suu Kyi and many of her party, took control of the country, and attempted to squash any form of dissent.

The person at the top who ordered the coup and the full-scale operations against civilians and pro-democratic groups is the leader of Myanmar's military and its political arm, the Security Administrative Council (SAC), Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

Read Myanmar Witness’ report for more information.