This article originally appeared in the Burma Campaign UK supporter magazine, “Burma Campaign News”, detailing events in the first six months after the military coup in February 2021.
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Timeline of the Coup
1st February
In the early hours of 1 February, the military, led by Min Aung Hlaing, launches a coup.
After the military political party, the USDP’s huge defeat in last November’s election, the military make unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud by the government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD). The coup takes place on the day the new government is due to take office.
The Burmese Army declares a state of emergency, detains Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, other NLD leaders and human rights activists.
2 February
Over 400 elected MPs are put under house arrest.
Min Aung Hlaing establishes a new military council – the State Administration Council (SAC).
The Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) is formed – health workers, civil society activists, doctors, bank staff, teachers, civil servants, transport workers and many others join the CDM. Striking workers refuse to work for the illegitimate military regime and join nationwide protests against military rule. People boycott military owned products.
Hundreds of thousands of people across the country begin protests against the coup. Protests are live-streamed on social media.
At night, people bang pots and pans and sound car horns in protest.
Protesters appeal for international support. They call for sanctions on military businesses, arms embargos and action on justice and accountability.
4 February
The military imposes internet blackouts and block access to Facebook and Whatsapp in an effort to stop protesters using social media to share information and organise protests and hide the scale of anti-coup protests from the world. Activists switch to Twitter.
6 February
The military blocks Twitter and Instagram.
8 February
The Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) is formed by MPs elected in November 2020 and claims to be the legitimate government.
The military imposes a curfew in Yangon, Mandalay and other towns, and bans gatherings of more than five people.
9 February
Police fire rubber bullets during a demonstration in the capital Naypyidaw. Water cannon and tear gas are also used against protesters. Mya Thwer Khaing, a 19 year old protester, is shot in the head by police.
13 February
Police use night-time raids to arrest opponents of the military coup.
14 February
Soldiers, including snipers, from the notorious Light Infantry Division (LID) 77 are deployed in Yangon for the first time.
The military announces amendments to the Penal Code to create new crimes and expands existing offenses to target those criticising the coup and the military and supporting the CDM. Other laws are introduced or amended to remove basic rights and freedoms.
15 February
Armoured trucks are deployed in the main cities.
The internet is now shut down every night.
19 February
Mya Thwer Khaing dies, the first protester to be killed.
20 February
Police and soldiers fire on striking workers and protesters in Mandalay, using rubber bullets, live ammunition and tear gas. At least 2 people are killed.
22 February
A nationwide general strike is held, businesses close and hundreds of thousands of protesters across the country are on the streets in one of the biggest days of demonstrations.
27 February
Police launch the biggest crackdown yet, arresting hundreds of people and shooting and wounding at least one person.
28 February
More troops are brought in to Yangon. These brutal army units were involved in crushing the 2007 Saffron Revolution and key to the Burmese Army’s genocide against the Rohingya in 2017.
March
With incredible bravery and determination, people in Burma continue to resist the coup. Nationwide protests continue. By March, millions of people have protested against the coup in nearly every township across the country.
3 March
At least 38 people are killed in bloodiest crackdown yet. Security forces viciously beat four volunteer health workers. One dies from their injuries.
9 March
Crackdown on media intensifies, journalists are systematically targeted. Security forces raid the office of local media organisation Myanmar Now. Several news agencies are banned. Journalists arrested.
11 March
The military target striking workers and trade unions. Hundreds of striking railway workers are surrounded in Yangon.
15 March
Mobile network data is cut.
Martial law imposed in six Yangon townships. Military use lethal battlefield tactics and weapons.
24 March
The Karen National Union announces it is sheltering hundreds of urban protesters and MPs.
27 March
Myanmar Armed Forces Day. As troops parade in the capital Naypyidaw, security forces kill at least 114 people, including a 5 year old boy, in the bloodiest day yet. State TV warns people they are “in danger of getting shot to the head and back.”
27–28 March
The Burmese army carries out air strikes in Karen State for the first time in 20 years. Three villagers are killed and over 10,000 people are forced to flee their homes.
April
Three months into the coup and the military are still unable to control the country. Popular resistance against the coup continues and the military escalates attacks in urban and ethnic areas.
16 April
MPs, activists and ethnic representatives form a National Unity Government (NUG). They ask the international community to recognise the NUG as the legitimate government of Burma. Their goal is a federal democratic Burma.
18 April
State television shows pictures of anti-coup protesters who have been arrested and show visible signs of torture. One woman’s face was so swollen from beatings she was almost unrecognisable.
More reports emerge of women being raped and gang-raped at detention centres, women being stripped naked for interrogations, being sexually assaulted and verbally abused.
The military carry out airstrikes and shell villages in Chin, Kachin, Karen and Shan states.
During April alone, security forces kill at least 288 civilians and over 27,000 people are forced to flee their homes. 26 civilians are sentenced to death in military tribunals.
May
The military continues to engulf the entire country in conflict, waging war against ethnic armed organisations, local defence forces, and anyone it believes opposes the coup. Airstrikes and attacks continue in ethnic areas.
5 May
The military bans satellite dishes. Internet shutdowns and restrictions continue, mobile phone data remains disconnected.
12-16 May
Siege of Mindat. The small town of Mindat in Chin State is one of the first places to take up armed resistance against the coup. For weeks local defence forces defend the town from Burmese army attacks. On 13 May, the military declare martial law, seal off the town and send in troops. The town is bombarded with artillery and airstrikes, killing and injuring civilians. By 24 May, an estimated 12,000 people have fled their homes.
21 May
Military attacks in Karenni State force tens of thousands of villagers to flee their homes. They are in urgent need of food and medical treatment.
June
Despite the violence, arrests and torture the military continues to inflict, protests against the coup continue, including street marches, flash mobs, silent strikes and protests on motorbikes.
1 June
At the start the school year on 1 June, only 10% of students have signed up.The coup has devastated education. Many students and teachers have been protesting against the coup. According to the Myanmar Teachers’ Federation, more than half of all teachers are on strike. Many teachers have been sacked or arrested.
13 June
Su Htet Wine, a five-year-old girl, is arrested and imprisoned with her mother and sister. Soldiers looking for her father arrest the family when they can’t find him. Security forces are arresting the families and friends of activists as hostages.
14 June
The trial of President Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi begins behind closed doors. They face numerous trumped up charges, including breaking coronavirus restrictions during last year’s election and breaking an import law by illegally possessing walkie-talkies.
24 June
The UN estimates that 230,000 people have been displaced since 1 February.
July
A devastating surge in Covid-19 cases is sweeping the country. Very few people are fully vaccinated.
12 July
Soldiers shoot at people queuing for oxygen. The military orders factories to stop providing oxygen to private individuals.
The healthcare system has all but collapsed since the coup. Healthcare professionals and volunteers continue to be killed, beaten and arrested and most hospitals struggle to function with lack of staff and equipment.
19 July
The military arrest 5 doctors who are helping COVID-19 patients after setting a trap by requesting a home visit from the local charity group. The doctors are targeted for participating in the CDM.
20 July
A senior NLD figure and Aung San Suu Kyi’s personal lawyer, U Nyan Win dies of coronavirus caught while being held in Insein Prison. Covid is spreading among political prisoners.
21 July
According to World Health Organisation figures, there have been 240,570 Covid cases and 5,567 deaths since the start of the pandemic, but the real numbers are certainly far higher.
Six months into the coup, security forces have:
Killed almost 1,000 civilians
Detained over 6,700
Displaced over 230,000 people, mainly ethnic civilians.
65 people have been sentenced to death.