Assessing the internal displacement crisis in Myanmar

Executive Summary

Myanmar Witness investigated internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Myanmar between January and June 2025, due to the spread of internal displacement-related reports being shared online since the 1 February 2021 coup, and the subsequent violent crackdown on civilians.

Across the studied period, the investigation analysed 284 open-source events documenting village- and/or camp-level impacts of internal displacement. Four main impact themes were also identified, which were:

• IDP creation
  • Events in a village or villages that resulted in residents fleeing their homes.
• IDP camps impacted
  • Events affecting formal or semi-formal camps specifically designed to shelter IDPs.
• IDP housing impacted
  • Attacks on, or damage to, specific buildings being used as temporary shelters for IDPs, including monasteries and schools
• IDP casualties
  • Events resulting in injury or death among IDPs.

Of Myanmar’s 15 states and regions, 12 were highlighted in the investigation. Mon State, Naypyidaw Union Territory, and the Yangon Region were not recorded. This absence is likely attributable to the Myanmar military’s territorial control over those areas, rather than an omission of risk to IDPs.

Based on Myanmar Witness’s investigation, the key findings indicate:

• IDP creation was the most frequently reported impact, representing 256 of the 284 reports (approximately 90%).
• Reports involving IDP camps accounted for 12 of the 284 reported events.
• IDP housing impacts were identified in 15 entries, while IDP casualties were reported in 23 events.
• Magway (84), Sagaing (79), and Bago (57) recorded the highest number of internal displacement impacts, largely corresponding with a reported high Myanmar military ground presence.
• March 2025 (81) and June 2025 (66) recorded the highest monthly concentrations of internal displacement, likely linked to reported military campaigns in Magway and Bago, respectively.
• Only 31 out of 284 reported events were verified through both geolocation and chronolocation. An additional 17 were geolocated only, and 18 were chronolocated only. The remaining 218 stayed as claimed, largely due to cloud coverage, limited User-Generated Content (UGC), or lack of geolocatable markers (e.g. resulting from extensive destruction or remote locations).

Taken together, these findings suggest that there are few to no locations within Myanmar that can be considered consistently safe for civilians. Early crackdown days saw cities in Yangon and Naypyidaw under the Myanmar military’s control. Additionally, since then, the use of aerial attacks and ground-based military campaigns has demonstrated that even geographically remote areas are impacted and remain vulnerable to violence, thus contributing to rising internal displacement and limiting prospects for sustained civilian safety.

This report will highlight the measures driving internal displacement impacts in Myanmar and assess how unsafe the country is for civilians living within the internal conflict.

Download full report (English I Myanmar)