Myanmar junta continues air strikes despite deadly earthquake, rebels say

Myanmar’s military has pressed ahead with air strikes against rebel forces despite the country reeling from a powerful earthquake that has killed more than 1,700 people and left thousands homeless.

The Danu People’s Liberation Army (DPLA), an ethnic minority armed group operating in northern Shan state, said seven of its fighters were killed when the junta launched an aerial attack on their base shortly after Friday’s (March 28) 7.7-magnitude quake.

Five military aircraft targeted the DPLA’s position in Naungcho township, one of the group’s officers said.

“Our soldiers tried to get into bunkers when they heard the sound of aircraft,” he said.

“But one big bomb hit one bunker where five female soldiers were killed on the spot.”

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The strike came despite some armed groups halting hostilities in the wake of the disaster, which caused widespread devastation in northern and central Myanmar.

Other air strikes have been reported in recent days, though they have not been independently verified.

Growing use of air power

The junta has increasingly relied on air power as its ground forces suffer a string of defeats in the ongoing civil war. Myanmar has descended into chaos since the military seized power in a 2021 coup, triggering nationwide resistance and a complex conflict involving anti-coup forces and long-established ethnic armed groups.

According to data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), the number of military air strikes on civilian areas has surged, with nearly 800 recorded so far in 2024 — more than three times the total from last year.

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The rise in air attacks has been enabled in part by Russia, a key ally and arms supplier, which has provided Myanmar with fighter jets and military equipment.

Rights groups and international observers have condemned the junta’s continued use of air strikes even as the country grapples with a humanitarian emergency.

Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, wrote on social media platform X: “Reports that Myanmar’s military has continued with airstrikes after the earthquake tells you everything you need to know about the junta — obsessed with its brutal repression of civilians and desperately trying to win the war whatever the human cost.”

Tom Andrews, the United Nations special rapporteur for Myanmar, called for an immediate ceasefire and suspension of military operations, telling the BBC it was “nothing short of incredible” that the military was bombing areas affected by the quake.

Earlier this month, an air strike hit a village held by anti-junta forces around 60 kilometres north of Mandalay — Myanmar’s second-largest city and one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake. A local official said the attack targeted civilian areas and killed at least 12 people.

With inputs from AFP