Open source analysis reveals impact of new Myanmar military operation designed to ‘pacify through fear’.
It comes nearly a year after an operation launched by an alliance of ethnic armed organisations led to a series of military outposts and bases surrendering.
The alleged aftermath of an airstrike on the La Ei IDP camp, Pekon township, Shan State. Source: Karenni Human Rights Group
An investigation by CIR’s Myanmar Witness project reveals the civilian harm resulting from a new military offensive intended to reclaim territory lost in Myanmar over the past year.
Myanmar Witness confirmed at least 12 fatalities as a result of airstrikes carried out between 5 and 6 September 2024. Detailed victim analysis identified casualties as mostly civilians, including women and children.
The team investigated the impact of four airstrikes carried out by Myanmar’s military air force during a 24-hour window. The reports of damage surfaced just days after it emerged that General Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of Myanmar’s military council, had announced a new operation during meetings with senior commanders at two regional headquarters.
Myanmar Witness project director Matt Lawrence said the destruction caused by the strikes – which included damage to shelters at an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp – reflects “a careless and indiscriminate use of military force”.
“Soon after the military operation was announced we saw a common pattern in the airstrikes we investigated – the clear and criminal disregard for civilian life,” Lawrence said. He added that the strikes reflect “the junta’s strategy of pacification through fear”.
Operation ‘Yan Naing Min’
In leaked documents, the operation is referred to as “Yan Naing Min”, which roughly translates as “King Conquers the Enemy”. The operation seems to be aimed at preventing the consolidation of control by Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) and People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) in areas of Kayah (Karenni) State and southern Shan State, where resistance forces have gained ground in recent months.
The new military operation comes almost a year after an alliance of EAOs launched a concerted attempt to wrest areas of Shan State, in northern Myanmar, from the control of the military. Calling themselves the “Three Brotherhood Alliance”, the surprise offensive was launched on 27 October 2023 and became known as Operation 1027. It led to a series of military outposts and bases surrendering, drawing the support of other rebel groups.
Four airstrikes
In its recent investigation, Myanmar Witness investigated reports of four airstrikes that emerged on open source channels in early September 2024. Spread over a large geographical area, they appear to be part of a pattern of attacks directed at areas where military rule is being contested on the ground.
Map of the four airstrike incidents investigated by CIR. Map created by Myanmar Witness, with base map credit to © MapTiler
In one airstrike on 5 September 2024, an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp was hit in Pekon township, an area where fighting between the military and local forces is continuing. The La Ei IDP camp, also known as the Bangkok camp, is home to over 600 people, mainly women, children and the elderly. Reports indicate 10 were killed, including six from the same family, and a further 14 injured.
Earlier that day, about 40km away, an airstrike in Demoso township damaged a police station and reportedly led to eight casualties.
On 6 September 2024, another airstrike led to damage in two built-up areas of Namhkam city, and on the same day, 350km away, to the west of Mandalay, the village of Let Yet Ma was hit by an airstrike, which reportedly destroyed a school.
Myanmar Witness investigators documented these airstrikes based on geolocation of social media and local news footage, as well as analysis of damage, which is consistent with air-dropped munitions.
Previous analysis by the team shows that military airstrikes in the country are occurring on a near-daily basis, with investigators documenting civilian harm as well as damage to schools, hospitals and religious sites.
Read the full investigation on the Myanmar Witness website, with further coverage from Newsweek, here.