Another bloody week for civilians in regime crosshairs: rights group

By Admin 24 May 2024

DMG Newsroom
24 May 2024, Sittwe

Junta artillery attacks and airstrikes killed more than 20 civilians and injured at least 50 across Myanmar during the period from May 15-21, the Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma said in a report.

The attacks killed eight children and wounded five others, and a civilian also died in a landmine blast planted by the military during the period, the report said.

Of the regions and states that experienced the junta’s human rights violations over the week documented, Arakan State stood first in terms of airstrikes suffered, totalling seven.

The regime also carried out five airstrikes in Sagaing Region, four in Shan State and one in Chin State during the period, the report added.

The military regime, which has faced defeat after military defeat in Arakan State, has been criticised by human rights activists for the increasing number of targeted attacks on civilians with airstrikes and other heavy weapons.

A human rights activist said he wants the international community to take effective action against the regime’s war crimes as it targets hospitals, residential buildings and civilians in Arakan State.

Some civilian buildings were damaged in a junta airstrike on Mrauk-U on the morning of May 24, according to local residents.

A woman from Arakan State told DMG that she feels psychologically insecure every day due to the junta airstrikes on towns and villages that have not even been the scenes of active fighting between the regime and AA forces.

“We have to flee to a bomb shelter when we hear the sound of jet fighters. We are worried about our safety whenever we hear the sound of jet fighters,” she added.

Airstrikes and heavy weapons — which have the potential to kill many people in one place in a matter of seconds — can happen at any time and place in war zones, creating an urgent need to build bomb shelters to protect against these dangers.

Myanmar’s military regime carried out 409 airstrikes in 187 incidents over the four months from January 1 to April 30 in Arakan State, Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica reported on Tuesday. The junta conducted 2,567 airstrikes in 819 incidents across Myanmar during that period, with Arakan State suffering the highest number of strikes at 409.