On a quiet morning on February 5, children in Deemaw Soe Township, Karenni state, attended school as usual. Despite fierce fighting throughout the state, no recent conflict in the area suggested an attack was looming.
Then, beginning at 10:15am, the Myanmar military deployed a series of air and ground attacks that directly targeted children at two schools. The bombardment went on for at least an hour.
According to a statement released by the Karenni Human Rights Group (KnHRG), a community organization dedicated to reporting on the current situation on the ground in eastern Myanmar’s Karenni state, the junta fired at the two schools deliberately.
Daw Si Ei school was hit by a series of bombs, including one weighing 225 kilograms. Four young boys between the ages of 12 and 14 were killed. The second attack on Loi Nan Pa claimed the life of one man. Between the two air strikes, up to 32 people were injured, including those under the age of three. At this writing, two remain in hospital in critical condition.
In photos that surfaced in the aftermath of the attack, the backpacks of children were seen covered in blood and debris. The air strikes and artillery shells fired at the schools were unquestionably intentional.
In response to the increasing loss of bases and territory throughout the country, the military has targeted those with the least protection and with no ability to retaliate with weapons.
On the same day as the air strikes, seven internally displaced persons (IDPs) were killed by the junta in Shadaw Township, Karenni state, after being forced to be human shields. Among the victims were two women with disabilities, a pregnant woman, three children, and a man.
The ongoing terrors have led to widespread uncertainty, with more than 80% of the Karenni population forcibly displaced. At least 350,000 out of the 420,000 total population are seeking refuge in temporary shelters, according to the interim government of Karenni state.
Most recently, on Children’s Day, which was marked on February 13, junta forces fired artillery toward villagers along the border of Shan and Karenni states. Three women were killed, and several others were injured. One of the victims was a young girl who was fatally struck when she was coming home from school.
The deceased also include a 30-year-old mother and a 50-year-old woman. Among those injured were an elderly woman who was weaving peacefully when her home was hit, causing her to lose a leg.
The military’s strategy is rooted in cowardice and a complete disregard for the rule of law and the protection and promotion of human rights. While these brutal tactics are not new, the number of hostilities against civilians is increasing. Reports by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) reveal an alarming rise of 114% in attacks by the military junta in 2023.
Inaction abroad
The junta’s constant disregard for human rights is emboldened by the lack of consequences they face from the international community. Despite United Nations Security Resolution 2669, adopted in December 2022 in response to the escalating human-rights situation, it appears the international community refuses to adhere to the agreement.
The inadequate response by the UN Security Council prompted the Special Advisory Council-Myanmar to state: “It is simply not good enough for the Security Council to issue toothless statements and defer to an even more toothless ASEAN. The junta must face justice for its deplorable acts.”
A report released last year by four Karenni civil-society organizations, including KnHRG, titled “How Can We Survive in the Future” found serious violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law committed by junta forces.
These included indiscriminate and targeted attacks on Karenni civilian populations, murder and mass killings, widespread destruction of civilian property, forced displacement on a massive scale, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and cruel treatment, sexual violence, and using Karenni civilians as forced labor and human shields.
“The Burmese military can commit atrocity crimes with impunity because the international community does not hold them accountable, even though it has a legal and moral obligation to do so,” the report read.
The report included calls for a referral of the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court, which would provide a pathway to justice and reparations for the thousands of victims since the attempted coup.
The military is not hiding its crimes. The atrocities are being committed in broad daylight. Photo, video, and satellite evidence repeatedly confirm the junta is the leading culprit behind the mass and ongoing human-rights violations. We cannot look away from these grave injustices.
The cycle of impunity, while all too familiar for Karenni people, must never be normalized. Yet despite calls from civil-society organizations for the UN and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to end their engagements with the junta, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) met with junta representatives in Naypyidaw while the military bombed schools.
Such engagements do nothing but normalize the junta’s behavior and further embolden the regime’s ability to terrorize civilians. The people of Myanmar have repeatedly rejected the coup, and in response, every day, more lives are lost.
Dialogue by the UN and ASEAN, combined with handshakes and photo-ops with the military junta, has not changed anything. Genuine and meaningful engagement must be with the pro-democracy stakeholders who know what it means to risk everything, not the generals in their abysmal record of violating human rights.
The current situation in Karenni state and throughout Myanmar demands a compassionate and coordinated response. There is a growing need for emergency humanitarian funding as thousands of people in temporary shelters and IDP camps face water shortages and a lack of access to work, education and justice.
The military has sought to protect its interests by denying the rights of Myanmar’s ethnic peoples for decades and waging wars in the name of “peace.” Without meaningful prospects for accountability, lasting peace for the Karenni people is impossible.