Aligned Nations · The wars
Myanmar and the Rohingya
⚔ The aggressor
The Myanmar military
The military overthrew the elected government on 1 February 2021 and shot peaceful protesters, turning resistance into war. Its 2017 'clearance operations' against the Rohingya are before the ICJ as genocide.
Backed by
- Russia and China → The Myanmar militaryThe main sources of the junta's fighter jets and arms; a UN Special Rapporteur traced at least $1 billion in weapons sent to it after the coup (2023), chiefly from Russia and China.
Their case: The military calls the resistance 'terrorists' and the Rohingya operations counter-terrorism.
Deaths: 100,114 since the February 2021 coup (ACLED, July 2026)
Five years after its coup, Myanmar's military has made its leader president through a partial election and keeps bombing markets and villages, while the Rohingya are attacked from both sides and The Gambia's genocide case awaits judgment.
Summary
The military seized power in February 2021, and the resistance — the National Unity Government's People's Defence Forces and ethnic armies — now holds much of the country. The Arakan Army controls most of Rakhine State. The junta fights mainly from the air: the UN counted at least 702 civilians killed by the military between August 2025 and January 2026, most by air strikes, and a 28 September 2026 strike on a Kyauktaw market killed dozens.
The Rohingya Muslims, driven out in their hundreds of thousands by the military's 2017 'clearance operations', are caught between the junta and the Arakan Army, which HRW accuses of the May 2024 Hoyyar Siri massacre of more than 170 Rohingya. The ICJ heard the merits of The Gambia's genocide case in January 2026. About 4 million people are displaced inside Myanmar.
Where it stands: Min Aung Hlaing was made president on 3 April 2026 after phased elections held in only 263 of 330 townships. Fighting resumed around Ann and Maungdaw in late September 2026; Malaysia began deporting people to Myanmar on 29 September despite UN warnings. The ICJ judgment is pending.
The parties
Myanmar military (junta)
0%Overthrew an elected government, bombs its own people from the air, and stands accused of genocide against the Rohingya.
- At least 702 civilians killed from August 2025 to January 2026, mostly by air strikes (OHCHR).
- 2017 operations drove about 740,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh; ICJ genocide case and an ICC warrant request for Min Aung Hlaing.
- 408 air attacks killing at least 170 civilians during the 2025–26 election period.
Resistance (National Unity Government and allied forces)
Rose against a coup and its massacres — a just cause — and has offered talks, though abuses by some units are recorded.
- Took up arms after the 2021 coup and the killing of protesters.
- Holds and administers large areas outside junta control.
An armed group, not a nation — not scored in the ranking.
Arakan Army
Fights the junta that oppressed Rakhine, but has massacred and expelled Rohingya Muslims.
- Controls about 14 of Rakhine's 17 townships.
- Accused by HRW (May 2026) of the May 2024 Hoyyar Siri massacre — over 170 Rohingya killed or missing, about 90 of them children — with no redress.
- UN reports land seizure, forced labour and arbitrary killings of Rohingya. The AA denies war crimes.
An armed group, not a nation — not scored in the ranking.
Articles
- Myanmar military launches air strike on Rakhine market, killing at least 33
- Malaysia: Press Myanmar Junta Leader to End Abuses
- Rohingyas in Myanmar suffering 'heartbreaking' misery and cruelty
- Myanmar: No Redress for Rohingya Muslims in Arakan Army Massacre
- Myanmar: Junta Atrocities Surge 5 Years since Coup
- Why The Gambia wants Myanmar punished for Rohingya genocide
- Myanmar crisis deepens five years after coup, as military ballot entrenches repression
How each nation is scored — the ten principles of our policy reforms
- Justice (adl). No one's land, life, rights or wealth taken unjustly; justice upheld for everyone, even enemies, and what was wrongly taken given back. Economic, Financial, Political and National Policy Reform
- Protection of life (hifz al-nafs). Life is sacred: non-combatants never targeted, war only against real aggression, and no help given to another's aggression. Political Policy Reform; the objectives of the sharia (maqasid)
- Prohibition of usury and speculation (riba, gharar). Public and private finance built on shared risk and real assets, not interest-bearing debt or speculative bets. Economic, Financial, Political and National Policy Reform
- Circulation of wealth and zakat (tadawul al-mal). Wealth must not circulate only among the rich; zakat, endowments and fair wages meet every person's basic needs. Economic, Financial, Political and National Policy Reform
- Trust over common resources (amana). Water, energy, minerals and public assets belong to the whole community — not privatised, monopolised or signed away for private or foreign gain. Economic and Financial Policy Reform
- Accountability and truthfulness (muhasaba, sidq). Rulers, security forces and firms answer to law and to the public; no coups, state capture, bribery or concealment. Economic, Political and National Policy Reform
- Legitimate authority by consultation (shura). Rule rests on the community's consent, given through consultation and a free pledge — not inheritance, force or foreign backing. Political and National Policy Reform
- Kept covenants and peacemaking (wafa bil-ahd, sulh). Treaties, contracts and rulings honoured; an offer of peace met with peace; disputes ended by reconciliation. Economic, Financial and Political Policy Reform
- Independence and self-reliance (izza). No foreign power or creditor in control of the nation's revenues or decisions; its own strength, industry and knowledge built. Financial and Political Policy Reform
- Human dignity, privacy and freedom of worship (karama). Every person's dignity protected — citizen or migrant; no spying on private lives; faiths and places of worship free and safe. Economic, Financial, Political and National Policy Reform
These are the principles the Policy Reform pages draw from the expert opinions. Each nation is marked 0–5 on each from its record as a state — its economy, government and treatment of its people, and its conduct in its wars — drawn from UN bodies, the ICJ and ICC, human-rights monitors and the reporting under each war. The ten marks make the percentage; each war a nation started, provoked or joined against another people then takes 15 points off it, and an aggressor always ranks below every nation that started no war. The score judges a state's conduct, not its people or their faith.