The March 28 quake, the worst natural disaster to hit the impoverished nation in decades, triggered a multi-national relief effort to support hundreds of thousands already ravaged by conflict and repeated international calls to halt the fighting.
But unreported figures from the United Nations show that the fighting has continued unabated and a Reuters analysis of data provided by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project found the frequency of junta aerial attacks has increased since the ceasefire announcement, compared to the six months prior.
Between March 28 and April 24, the military launched at least 207 attacks, including 140 airstrikes and 24 artillery barrages, according to data from the UN Human Rights Office, based on reports it had received.
“It’s business as usual,“ said James Rodehaver, Myanmar head for the United Nations Office on Human Rights.
Myanmar has been in crisis since the military seized power in February 2021, toppling the elected government of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Civilian targets
“The first bomb exploded near her house. Then she braced her children for a second bomb and shrapnel hit her body,“ said the witness, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution.
Reuters could not independently verify the witnesses' account but the ACLED data contains an entry for a junta attack on the village on April 16, including one fatality.
Between April 2 and April 18, the military carried out an average of 9.7 aircraft or drone attacks every day, leaving more than six people dead each day, since the ceasefire was announced, ACLED data shows.
The data showed opposition groups only conducted three aerial attacks during the ceasefire, between April 2-18. Anti-junta groups in the country lack any conventional air force and rely on drones.
The junta's aerial attacks since the quake have been in the Sagaing region and northern Shan state, where it is attempting to regain strategic positions, as well as in Kachin and Rakhine states, said ACLED Senior Analyst Su Mon.
In its ceasefire announcements, on April 2 and April 22, the junta said that it would retaliate against a range of actions by rebels, including recruitment and territorial expansion.
Referring to the junta, he said, “Whenever you get attacked by... small arms fire, your response is to launch airstrikes on an area and you end up killing a dozen people who were not involved in the fighting at all. Is that a ceasefire?”
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