No Relief As The Burma Army Rains Down Attacks Through Monsoon Season In Northern Burm

Kachin State, Sagaing Division, and Northern Shan State, Burma.

29 August 2022

The month of July marks the pinnacle of monsoon season in northern Burma and is historically a time of peace and respite from Burma Army attacks. Flooded rivers, washed-out roads, and slick mountain trails annually aid in protecting local populations from the Burma Army’s mobility, and thus ability, to conduct unlawful attacks in these ethnic-controlled regions. Since the coup of February 2021, northern Burma has not experienced this lull in fighting, however; on the contrary, invasions, attacks, and human rights abuses perpetrated by the Burma Army have increased. One way the Burma Army is able to bypass monsoon-affected areas is by their use of aircraft.

This July, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) reported that the Burma Army used attack jets and attack helicopters to surveil, strafe, and bomb ethnic-controlled areas on 12 different occasions. On one of the 12 occasions, civilians’ homes were hit and destroyed by the Burma Army’s airstrikes. Over the last five years, the KIA has reported a total of 201 Burma Army-initiated military clashes in northern Burma during the month of July. Of these 201 clashes, 77% of them have occurred in the last two years alone since the recent coup, and July 2022 holds the highest number of clashes in the last five years.

*This information is limited to reports from Free Burma Rangers and the Kachin Independence Army, and it does not represent the totality of military battles or human rights abuses in Burma. The information only serves as a snapshot of the conflict areas.