Executive Summary
Between January 2022 and September 2023, Myanmar Witness investigated incidents around the Letpadaung copper project in Salingyi Township (ဆားလင်းကြီးမြို့နယ်), Sagaing Region(စစ်ကိုင်း တိုင်းဒေသကြီး) (figure 1). Following the February 2021 military coup, militarisation around the Chinese-owned Myanmar Wanbao Mining Company intensified, leading to widespread reports of arson, land confiscation, forced displacement, and airstrikes involving the State Administration Council (SAC) and the Myanmar Air Force (MAF).
Utilising open-source tools and geolocated user-generated content (UGC), Myanmar Witness verified that at least 21 villages near the Letpadaung project were burned between 2022 and 2023. UGC and satellite imagery also confirmed airstrikes, notably during the June 2023 attack on Nyaung Pin Gyi village (ညောင်ပင်ကြီး), after resistance forces seized the local police station. A video published by Mandalay Free Press (MFP) depicted a military MI-35 helicopter firing on the village, with analysis confirming the terrain matched views from Monywa across the Chindwin River. Mizzima News reported over 200 homes destroyed, while Myanmar Witness independently verified at least 179 houses burned.
The case of Wet Hmay – Kan Taw village (ဝက်မှေး-ကံတော) further illustrates the scale of displacement. Satellite imagery confirmed that between July and August 2023, Wanbao, with SAC support, erected fencing that gradually enclosed the village, leading to its depopulation. The fenced area, measured using Google Earth’s polygon tool, covered approximately 3.41 square kilometres (842.6 acres). Within this zone, Myanmar Witness identified five structures resembling military outposts. In September 2023, The Ayeyarwaddy Times reported that SAC forces were preparing to establish a military base there.
These events build on a longer history of contested land acquisition around the Letpadaung project. Forced evictions have been recorded since mining began in 2010, and in 2016, Wanbao announced the acquisition of 2,000 acres of land and 141 houses across four villages, without disclosing the timing or process. The project’s 2023 expansion reignited tensions, with compensation, when offered, fuelling further grievances. The Mountain of Trouble report notes that, under the 1894 Land Acquisition Act, payments were based on outdated land tax rates, causing widespread dissatisfaction.
In a further escalation, on 18 February 2025, the military council passed a private security law allowing foreign companies to deploy armed personnel. While framed as protecting foreign investments, residents fear that Wanbao could bring in Chinese armed forces. This raises concerns about foreign involvement in Myanmar’s conflict and the blurring of commercial and military boundaries.
Myanmar Witness will continue monitoring the Letpadaung project’s expansion, focusing on land acquisition, forced evictions, foreign armed security, and infrastructure militarisation. These investigations add to growing evidence of how post-coup extractive development in Myanmar is tied to violence, displacement, and potential violations of international human rights..