Alleged funeral gathering struck twice in Kachin State

Strikes on group events have been one of the more visceral features of the conflict in Myanmar since the 2021 coup, and have recurred multiple times. These incidents are not isolated but form part of a broader pattern of repeated harm to large civilian gatherings, including weddings, schools and public celebrations. Recent reports indicate that this pattern continues.

This article contains details that some readers may find distressing. Additionally, several sources have been removed due to graphic content; they are available upon request. 

A military jet reportedly bombed an alleged prayer gathering in Kachin State twice on 22 January 2026, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 40, as residents prepared funeral rites for a resident, according to Burma Insight.

Survivors apparently attempting to help the wounded were reportedly struck by a second bomb shortly after the first. The village Htee Lin (ထီးလင်း) in Bhamo Township, reportedly hosted internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had fled fighting in Bhamo town.

The village is situated within the KIA Brigade 8 territory, and at the time of the reported strike, no fighting was documented in the area.

While the cause of this reported incident has not been directly stated, the following is understood based on available reporting:  

• Elections have been mentioned as a potential factor, as the strike occurred three days before the alleged opening of Bhamo’s election stations. 
• IDPs are reportedly seeking refuge in areas alleged to be under the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) control.
  •  This is partially corroborated by the temporary buildings and tarpaulins visible in user-generated content (UGC) and satellite footage.
• Religion may also be a contributing factor, given that funeral rites in Kachin State are often closely tied to religious practice. However, this remains unverified and available information at the time of writing does not clearly indicate that the site was a religious venue.

A selection of online imagery (source removed due to graphic content) has been geolocated and chronolocated, verifying the events in Htee Lin village [24.280652, 97.16086]. The verified footage appears to show ten of the reported fatalities, and additional UGC appears to show further casualties with varying injuries at a separate, verified location. 

Myanmar Witness’s analysis indicates that the number of fatalities and the variety of observed injuries appear extensive, and are consistent with a large-scale violent event, such as an explosion; however, this cannot be verified.

Investigation Walkthrough

Geolocation

Verification of early video footage (source removed due to graphic content) showing the majority of casualties was initially inconclusive due to discrepancies with satellite imagery, including the absence of a large green tarp and background buildings appearing where they should not have been. After obtaining higher-resolution imagery of the site via Planet services, most of the previously missing features were identified and consolidated. 

Using a secondary, related source, the bottom of figure 1 shows the incident site from the road south of the event. The building highlighted in orange is shown in both images and can be scaled in satellite imagery based on the size of the door. The largest remaining discrepancy was the green tarp. While this was still not visible in Planet imagery, Myanmar Witness considers it likely that the tarp had been moved since the incident. Additional matching features can be shared upon request. 

Figure 2 highlights further damage around the casualty area, while figure 3 provides a wider scope of the incident site. A radio tower (source removed) (highlighted in a red box in figure 3) serves as a strong indicator, supporting the validity of the uploaded imagery. Additional matching features further corroborate the related posts, leading Myanmar Witness to assess that the imagery is likely connected to the incident.

Chronolocation

Following the geolocation assessment, coordinates [24.2807961, 97.161468] were cross-checked with Copernicus, a satellite service with a higher capture interval. 

Sentinel-2 true colour and false colour imagery showed no clear discolouration beyond the identified site in the village (figure 4). This suggests that, if two explosions did occur, they likely happened in proximity to each other. The closeness of the two strikes indicates that the area may have been the intended target, rather than the nearby radio tower. 

To further assess the location and ground impact, biweekly snapshots from Copernicus provide further insights into potential changes over time. In figure 4, the top image uses true colour, where browning is visible in the orange boxed areas. The bottom images use false-colour, which reflects vegetation changes. Consistent with the true colour imagery [top image], the area of discolouration expands in the verification imagery, further supporting the geolocation assessment.

Furthermore, the presence of alleged IDPs in the area may explain why some buildings, such as the bamboo-framed structure highlighted in figure 1, are not visible in satellite footage, since they are likely either temporary structures or not visible due to limitations in the resolution of satellite image capture. 

Forensic Analysis

Available UGC (tied to the geolocations presented in the previous section) shows many casualties and their varied injuries. Myanmar Witness’s forensic specialist analysed the imagery to try to determine the body count and injury analysis. 

The analysed imagery provided the following conclusions:

• The casualties include women, children, men and (although unverified at time of writing) a baby (source removed).
• Most, if not all, bodies look organically displayed, meaning that these were likely the sites of death and were not moved post-mortem between the incident and the footage being filmed. 
• The bright colouration in some parts of the footage, and the lack of coagulation signs with only some ground absorption, suggest that the airstrike likely occurred shortly before the footage was recorded. 
• A couple of bodies do not show signs of blood staining around them, potentially indicating that blunt force trauma (for example, hitting their head on an object or ground aggressively without breaking skin) was the cause of death. But this cannot be proven. 
• Traumatic amputations can be seen in multiple victims, including decapitations, and with some, partial body mutilations (core body damage). 
• Eight individuals appear likely deceased in the footage analysed (source removed due to graphic content) (note that two others are not shown).
  • At least one woman at the end of the video appears injured, with the possibility of a second (timestamp 1:02). 
  • An additional individual who may be injured is also visible (timestamp 1:13); her posture suggests she was affected by a possible violent event. 
  • At the time of the recording, a woman’s voice can also be heard, which may correspond to the same injured individual or the one captured at 1:02. 

The analysis of the bodies in the video indicates a high likelihood that a major violent event occurred, such as one or multiple explosions. 

Myanmar Witness investigators will continue to monitor the region for further signs of violent events, with a reconnaissance of the longstanding turbulence around the Irrawaddy River. Myanmar Witness has recently completed a series of reports tracking developments in key townships affected by the 2025-2026 Myanmar military-led election. Moving forward, information on future human rights abuses will continue to be collected, archived, and documented to support accountability and bring those responsible to justice.