Bombs After Disaster: Burma Junta Targets Earthquake Survivors Amid Ceasefire Lies
More than a month after the catastrophic March 28 earthquake claimed over 3,600 lives in Myanmar, the ruling military junta has continued its campaign of airstrikes, shellings, abductions, and forced conscription—even in the quake’s hardest-hit regions—despite publicly agreeing to a ceasefire for humanitarian access.
Since the disaster, the junta has launched 243 military assaults, including 171 airstrikes, directly targeting civilians, refugee shelters, and ethnic-controlled regions. These attacks have coincided with the junta’s refusal to allow foreign aid into resistance-held zones and its repeated demands for cash over direct relief, raising international alarm over corruption and misappropriation.
A Ceasefire in Name Only
Despite agreeing to pause hostilities for relief efforts, the military used the ceasefire as a tactical ruse. Aid workers have documented forced conscription of young quake survivors, ongoing bombings of displaced persons camps, and denial of food, medicine, and shelter to opposition areas.
The regime’s demand for foreign aid to be funneled through its control met fierce opposition from the National Unity Government (NUG) in exile and grassroots civil society groups. They warned that junta-led aid would be weaponized, not delivered.
With no other choice, resistance groups, religious organizations, and ethnic militias stepped in—channeling life-saving assistance through faith networks, ethnic armies, and even the Jesuits, who devised a Philippines-based workaround to bring aid into the country without junta involvement.
Resistance Rising
Despite the junta’s aerial dominance, resistance movements are surging on the ground. Ethnic armies in Karen, Arakan (Rakhine), Chin, and Kachin States have captured military camps, destroyed infrastructure, and pushed government troops out of swaths of territory:
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Karen National Liberation Army seized Htee Khee, a strategic border crossing, and multiple junta bases.
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Arakan Army surrounded regime forces near Chinese strategic projects in Kyauk Phyu.
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Kachin Independence Army captured over 200 junta soldiers in recent offensives near Hpakant and Banmaw.
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Chin resistance cleared more than 500 landmines, allowing displaced civilians to return.
These victories mark a shift: entire ethnic states are slipping from junta control. Only major cities remain under military occupation, and experts predict that Chin, Kachin, and Arakan may be fully liberated by year’s end.
Foreign Influence, Chemical Attacks, and Escalation
Even amid a supposed ceasefire, junta airstrikes on monasteries, schools, and hospitals continue. A May 8 strike on a monastery sheltering 400 people killed 15 civilians. In Karenni State, fighters reported toxic gas attacks—allegedly involving aluminum phosphide or other industrial toxins—causing vomiting, respiratory issues, and neurological symptoms. These chemicals, while not classified as weapons, have serious health effects.
International watchdogs have also condemned China and Russia’s continued support for the regime. Both countries supply jet fuel, drones, aircraft, and munitions, enabling the junta’s reign of terror. China, in particular, is focused on securing the Kyaukphyu deep-sea port and the China-Myanmar Energy Corridor, fearing instability will threaten its Belt and Road Initiative.
To protect its investments, Beijing is deploying armed security contractors into Arakan, essentially militarizing Chinese corporate interests while ignoring human rights abuses.
The Path Forward: Ground the Junta
The solution, according to civil society leaders and pro-democracy forces, is simple and achievable: cut off the junta’s ability to fly. End shipments of jet fuel. Halt arms flows from Beijing and Moscow. Recognize the NUG as Myanmar’s legitimate government.
None of this requires foreign boots on the ground. No soldiers. No war. Just the will to act.
So far, that will has been missing. The U.N. has failed. ASEAN has failed. The West watches in silence.
But for the people of Burma—still digging out from rubble while bombs fall from the sky—inaction is not an option. With resistance fighters gaining ground, the time to support their push for democracy is now.
If the world acts, Burma’s liberation is within reach. If not, it will be another genocide the world watched in silence.