This briefing paper by the Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma) will analyze the impact of the airstrikes perpetrated against innocent civilians by the military junta in Northern Shan State, Kachin State and Karenni State throughout November 2024.

Desk research compiled by ND-Burma in English and Burmese, combined with data from our members, found twenty-five incidents of airstrikes took place in November in these specific areas, leading to 25 adults killed and ten children, 74 wounded, including 23 adults and 51 children. There were at least 77 damaged properties, including a church, monastery, hospital, tea shop, five office buildings, and six vehicles.

ND-Burma has several members operating on the ground in the locations included in this analysis, including the Pa-O Youth Organization, the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand and the Ta’ang Students and Youth Union. Of the twenty-five cases, fourteen were also documented by ND-Burma organizations. Their ongoing documentation efforts are critical to collecting further evidence needed to hold the military junta accountable for its crimes.

The deployment of the airstrikes has resulted in many long-term challenges for those targeted, including a lack of adequate shelter, food and medical supplies. The worsening offensives have also led to obstacles in the safe delivery and provision of humanitarian assistance, which the military routinely attempts to intercept and sabotage.

The junta deliberately denies urgently needed aid to the communities they have bombed, both aerially and in on-the-ground attacks. Concerning the vast majority of attacks on civilians, especially from the air, the military regime is the perpetrator of these attacks.

Airstrikes are frequently carried out late at night and early in the morning when there is little warning or time to flee. The junta has violently targeted displaced populations in temporary shelters, internal displacement camps, homes, villages, schools, places of worship, and clinics. Survivors have expressed anxiety, trauma and suffering over the uncertainty and indiscriminate nature of the targeted assaults against them.

The junta has also destroyed entire livelihoods as villages are devastated from the skies. What food, livestock, and materials remain are often raided by military forces in the aftermath of their attacks. The ongoing suffering and plight of civilians have worsened due to the lack of a coordinated and urgent response by the international community.

The future belongs to the people of Burma.

For more information:

Nai Aue Mon
Signal: +66 86 1679 741

San Htoi
Signal no: +66649369070

Download the briefer in English | Myanmar