Burmese Military ‘Special Command’ Authorized Killing Civilians Using Snipers: Report

A policeman holding a long firearm stands in front of anti-coup protesters gathering outside the Hledan Centre in Yangon, Myanmar on Fri. Feb. 19, 2021. AP Photo

The Burmese military junta issued a “special command” authorizing the deployment of troops in civilian-populated cities, and the use of snipers to intimidate and kill civilians, according to a report released on March 24.

The report, published by human rights group Fortify Rights and Yale Law School’s Schell Center, stated that senior general Min Aung Hlaing had created the special command the day after the military coup that ousted elected Aung San Suu Kyi in February last year.

It stated that the military junta deployed snipers to kill protesters “as a matter of state policy” to deliberately instill fear among them, and established a “fieldcraft manual” that makes no mention of the laws of war or human rights.

“In one section [of the fieldcraft manual], it advises soldiers to make sure a bullet equates to an enemy killed,” the report stated.

The 193-page report was based on leaked documents and 128 testimonies from various sources, including survivors, protesters, medical professionals, members of armed resistance, and former police.

Medical professionals who treated victims of the military junta’s attack claimed that numerous victims were fatally shot in the head or chest with a single bullet, indicating the military’s “deadly precision and intent to kill.”

The report identified 61 military and police officers who the researchers believe should be investigated for crimes against humanity in Burma, also known as Myanmar. Six of them were active-duty army personnel, including a colonel and two majors.

It also documented the physical locations of 1,040 military units across Burma, which the researchers believe could help prosecutors and policymakers in geolocating alleged perpetrators.

“All individuals responsible for these crimes should be sanctioned and prosecuted,” Matthew Smith, chief executive officer at Fortify Rights and co-author of the report, said in a statement.

The military junta systematically imprisoned and forcibly disappeared several thousand people in Burma, including children, civilian opinion leaders, elected officials, peaceful protesters, journalists, and human rights defenders.

“The whereabouts and well-being of many detainees are unknown, effectively amounting to a situation of mass enforced disappearances,” it stated.

At least 1,600 people have been killed and more than 12,500 people detained, while 440,000 more people have been displaced since the military seized power in Burma, according to the United Nations.

On March 15, the U.N. urged the international community to take “immediate measures” to the military junta’s systematic human rights violations, which it said amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that the military junta has shown “a flagrant disregard for human life” by launching airstrikes on populated areas and deliberately targeting civilians.

“Throughout the tumult and violence of the past year, the will of the people has clearly not been broken. They remain committed to seeing a return to democracy and to institutions that reflect their will and aspirations,” Bachelet said.