After suffering numerous debilitating losses on the battlefield in recent months, the Military Council has escalated deliberate attacks on civilian populations, many of whom are still fleeing the ongoing violence.
After the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and allied forces toppled at least 100 junta installations in Kachin State this year, the Military Council has responded by killing at least 77 people (11 children,14 women) and injured 75 (2 children,12 women) with airstrikes and artillery attacks until the end of May. These attacks especially targeted civilians staying in Bhamo, Momauk, and Mansi townships, gaining momentum early February.
From the start of the year until the end of May, the highest number of victims were in Bhamo Township, with 19 civilians killed and 6 injured (5 children, 7 women). In Momauk Township, there were 11 people killed and 7 injured (3 children, 3 women). In Mansi Township, 12 civilians were killed, and 5 injured (3 children, 3 women).
A junta aircraft bombed a Buddhist monastery and hall in Si Ou in Mansi Township during a wedding, injuring at least two women on January 9.
Infantry Battalion 47 attacked Mansi town with artillery from Bhamo town, killing a child on February 19. The shelling tore the child’s body into pieces. A man, terrified by the shelling, had a stroke and died.
Junta soldiers in Mansi shelled the town with artillery on February 28, seriously injuring a young girl under ten. Attacks also occurred in the township in January. During both instances, there was no fighting in the areas under attack. The Military Council also launched an airstrike on the Mansi – Loije road on April 1 when no fighting was reported, killing a driver and five other civilians, and injuring two.
In Hpakant Township, fighting has been constant since the end of 2023 after the KIA initiated an offensive. The junta has conducted numerous airstrikes and shelled ground troops, torching people’s homes and arresting many civilians in villages and at roadblocks across the township. Seven people were killed by the bombings, including two children and two women.
A jet fighter attacked Hsinbo in Myitkyina Township, where KIA and allied forces were stationed. At least five people were injured in the bombings from April 25-29. There are rumours that some people were killed in the attacks, but KNG couldn’t confirm it.
When inmates at Myitkyina Prison protested, guards and soldiers used live ammunition, killing at least four people, including two prisoners of conscience on April 18.
Unknown assailants shot at a couple in Shatapru Ward of Myitkyina, killing the husband on the spot in the capital town of Kachin State.
Laiza, the de facto capital of the KIA and its political wing, the Kachin Independence Organisation, came under shelling that killed a mother and son, and another civilian on March 7.
In April, two Christian leaders were shot, with one killed and the other injured.
Displacement of Civilians
The conflict has been particularly hard for civilians residing in Waingmaw, Momauk, Mansi, Loije, and Shwegu townships in Bhamo District, with some fleeing multiple times to makeshift camps in other villages or the jungle to find safety.
Residents of Aung Myay (I) and (II) wards in Waingmaw Township have been trying to escape the fighting that broke out along the road linking the towns of Waingmaw and Bhamo since March 7, but the Military Council has forced thousands to remain in their areas, using them as human shields, despite the serious peril it puts them in. There were 2 elderly people over 80 who died of strokes, while others have been killed by airstrikes and shelling. It’s estimated that at least 600 people — 200 of whom are children — managed to reach the village of Laban, where they are now sheltering.
After the KIA and allied forces captured the regime’s battalion bases in Shwe Nyaung Pin in Waingmaw Township on May 21, the regime has rained artillery day and night from Myitkyina and Waingmaw town, and has launched many airstrikes, attacking with multiple rocket launchers. Civilians sought safety from fighting in Waingmaw town, but after KIA forces entered the town to attack the Military Council, people had to flee again. However, some still remain trapped by ongoing battles, where many homes and religious buildings have been damaged or destroyed by junta attacks.
Practically the entire town of Momauk (estimated population 9,398 plus) has fled from large and drawn-out battles that have also affected the rest of the Momauk Township, where heavy junta bombing continues.
In Mansi town, the entire population of 8,725 plus also fled the intensified battles, shelling, and airstrikes. Many people have sought refuge in Bhamo town, including at least 100 pregnant women and children.
Military Council airstrikes and artillery shelling killed 15 civilians and injured 27 others in Momauk, Waingmaw, Myitkyna, and Laiza areas in May.
Six people, including a five-year-old and a nine-year-old, were killed, and eleven others injured by shelling in Khat Cho in Waingmaw Township on June 19. The next day, more shelling killed three women in the village and a woman in La Myan.
After the KIO/KIA installed its own administration in Loije Township on April 12, some people have been able to return home.
Kachin human rights activist Nan Pu said that although it’s difficult to receive timely information from these conflict zones where the Military Council has severed connectivity, “In the last four months, the number of deaths, including children and women, has drastically increased in Kachin State.” Other issues arise from victims feeling apprehensive about sharing their stories, fearing reprisals if they reveal too much.
Since the military coup, over two million people are internally displaced in the country.
“We have seen the negative impact of war on civilian people in Kachin State” in recent months, she said, where they are “facing many hardships and challenges,” including “human trafficking and other exploitation” and forced recruitment. Regime soldiers are arriving in the dead of night to inspect households, causing many women to suffer mental trauma.