democide; mass killing of civilians
A formal or academic term for the deliberate killing of a large number of civilians by a government or authority. Not an everyday word; used in political science, history, and human rights contexts.
The democide committed by the dictatorial regime was condemned by the international community.
Historians are comparatively studying cases of democide in the 20th century.
虐殺 is a more general and common word for massacre or slaughter, not necessarily by a government. 民衆殺戮 specifically refers to government-perpetrated mass killing of civilians.
ジェノサイド (genocide) targets a specific national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. 民衆殺戮 (democide) is broader, covering any government killing of its own people regardless of group identity.
Compound of 民衆 (みんしゅう, 'the people, the masses') and 殺戮 (さつりく, 'slaughter, massacre'). The term is a direct translation of the English 'democide', coined by political scientist R.J. Rummel.