Junta’s Airstrikes Rain Down
“In all these years we’ve gained a clarity of focus, of purpose, and of solidarity…The Spring Revolution which rose up nationwide in 2021 outright rejecting the military’s illegal coup attempt has been different. Genuine federal democracy has been a unifying vision since the beginning. The youth have boldly said, we will never allow you to govern us or rule us.”
Losing more ground to the resistance movement, the Myanmar military junta has now become one of the country’s armed groups rather than a national military. With significant defeats on land, the junta continues to retaliate from the air, raining bombs like a torrential downpour over civilians’ heads, turning villages and towns into killing fields. Given the escalating atrocities, the international community must urgently coordinate action to protect Myanmar’s people and ensure effective enforcement of targeted sanctions to cut off the junta’s access to aviation fuel and weaponry.
During the second phase of Operation 1027, launched by the Three Brotherhood Alliance (3BHA), the Myanmar military suffered a historic and humiliating defeat on 3 August, as the Northeastern Command in Lashio, northern Shan State, fell to the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). This resulted in the capture of three high-ranking junta generals. It also marked the first time a regional command center had fallen to ethnic armed resistance groups who have long been fighting against the Myanmar military for ethnic equality and self-determination.
In the wake of its losses, the junta’s desperate aggression has manifested in retaliatory attacks and collective punishment of civilians. In July alone, junta’s deliberate attacks in Hsenwi Township, northern Shan State, killed 13 civilians, injured 24, and damaged over 40 buildings, including three schools. In this latest series of attacks, one of the deadliest strikes occurred on 18 July, bombing the Hsenwi town market and resulted in the death of 10 civilians. The scene was horrific, with body parts scattered, the ground punctured with large craters, and buildings destroyed. Similarly, on 5 August, a junta airstrike on the central market in Kutkai Township, northern Shan State, killed at least six civilians and partially destroyed the market.
As the MNDAA’s offensive moved closer to taking full control of Lashio, the junta launched a series of retaliatory attacks on civilians in Laukkai, a border town with China that has been held by the MNDAA since January. On 2 August, the junta’s airstrikes hit a hospital in Laukkai, killing 10 people and destroying parts of the building.
These airstrikes are not limited to Shan State. As resistance forces advance toward Mandalay City, the junta launched a brutal airstrike in Singu Township, Mandalay Region, killing at least 15 people and forcing many others to flee their homes. Moving north to Kachin State, the junta bombed multiple villages near Laiza City on 7 August, injuring seven civilians and heavily damaging several buildings including a church.
According to Blood Money Campaign, a Myanmar campaign group, the junta’s airstrikes in the second half of July was a 54% sharp spike from the first half of the same month, rising from 88 to 136. Civilians are enduring the daily threat of junta airstrikes, living with constant insecurity and fearing for their lives day and night.
Despite the intensifying bombs raining down from the sky, Myanmar’s people have consistently proved their rejection and resistance against the Myanmar military, as they have time and again through many generations of pro-democracy movements—including the 8888 Uprising which recently marked its 36th anniversary. Today, the Myanmar military maintains its cycle of violence, bombing civilians and taking innocent lives every single day. Yet, the legacies, sacrifices, and staunch determination of the 88 generation and other movements and their activism are unstoppable. The Spring Revolution has revitalized this legacy, advancing it toward systematic changes needed for a future federal Myanmar.
Khin Ohmar, Chairperson of Progressive Voice, outlined in her recent essay, “In all these years we’ve gained a clarity of focus, of purpose, and of solidarity…The Spring Revolution which rose up nationwide in 2021 outright rejecting the military’s illegal coup attempt has been different. Genuine federal democracy has been a unifying vision since the beginning. The youth have boldly said, we will never allow you to govern us or rule us.”
The young generations of Myanmar in the Spring Revolution have proved in action their pledge to never allow the military to rule them. The people of Myanmar have turned the tables with their coordination, pushing against military aggression that this decades-long oppressive institution is likely soon to be dismantled. Yet, the continuous apathy of the international community is allowing the junta to continue to commit international crimes against the people of Myanmar, particularly with its aerial attacks, and delaying the victory of the people.
Myanmar’s people’s unyielding determination to build a future with their lives and blood must be supported with concrete actions. The international community can no longer afford to sit on their hands. The world must urgently implement a global embargo on arms, aviation fuel, and dual-use goods to the Myanmar military, complete with coordinated and well-enforced sanctions. In tandem, humanitarian aid must be directed through equal partnership with trusted local humanitarian responders, and community-based and civil society organizations through cross-border channels, to effectively reach those gravely affected by the junta’s violence. Most urgently, the world must coordinate and take immediate action to protect civilians who live in constant fear of junta atrocities.
[1] One year following the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, the former military junta changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar overnight. Progressive Voice uses the term ‘Myanmar’ in acknowledgement that most people of the country use this term. However, the deception of inclusiveness and the historical process of coercion by the former State Peace and Development Council military regime into usage of ‘Myanmar’ rather than ‘Burma’ without the consent of the people is recognized and not forgotten. Thus, under certain circumstances, ‘Burma’ is used.
Resources from the past week
Statements and Press Releases
By Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network
Rohingya in Maungdaw Still Need Protection
By Burma Human Rights Network
By Defend Myanmar Democracy
By European Rohingya Council
Statement on International Day of the World’s Indigenous People
By Karen Human Rights Group
By Karen National Union
Severe spike in arrivals of war wounded Rohingya from Myanmar
By Médecins Sans Frontières
By National Unity Government
Statement on the Critical Situation in Maungdaw
By Rohingya Justice Initiative
By Rohingya Human Rights Initiative
By Salween Peace Park
By Salween Peace Park
Statement of Solidarity with the Students of Bangladesh
By Sisters 2 Sisters
By Three Brotherhood Alliance
Statement by the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. for Myanmar
By UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Myanmar
ထုတ်ပြန်ကြေညာချက် အမှတ်၊ (၁၆/၂၀၂၄)
By United League of Arakan
By By United League of Arakan
Press Release on the Ground Situation in Buthidaung and Maungdaw Regions
By United League of Arakan
ဘူးသီးတောင်၊ မောင်တော ဒေသ၏ မြေပြင်ပကတိအခြေအနေနှင့်ပတ်သက်၍ ထုတ်ပြန်ကြေညာချက်
By United League of Arakan
Distressing reports of civilian casualties as conflict escalates in Rakhine State, Myanmar
By UNICEF Myanmar
Renewed call for action to protect Rohingya in Rakhine State, Myanmar
By Women’s Peace Network
Reports
Weekly Overview: Human Rights Situation in Mon State, Karen State and Tanintharyi Region
By Human Rights Foundation of Monland
March 2024 Frontline Armed Incident Tracker
By Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica
SAC revenge airstrikes in Hsenwi kill 13 civilians, injure 24, damage over 40 buildings in July 2024
By Shan Human Rights Foundation
ရှမ်းလူ့အခွင့်အရေးမဏ္ဍိုင်မှ နောက်ဆုံးရ လူ့အခွင့်အရေး ချိုးဖောက်မှု ထုတ်ပြန်ချက်
By Shan Human Rights Foundation
Progressive Voice is a participatory, rights-based policy research and advocacy organization that was born out of Burma Partnership. Burma Partnership officially ended its work on October 10, 2016 transitioning to a rights-based policy research and advocacy organization called Progressive Voice. For further information, please see our press release “Burma Partnership Celebrates Continuing Regional Solidarity for Burma and Embraces the Work Ahead for Progressive Voice.”
