At least 40 people are dead after a massive explosion ripped through a rebel-held village in northern Myanmar on Tuesday, sources on the ground have confirmed. The blast, which witnesses described as a 'military-grade airstrike', levelled scores of homes in the Kachin State settlement, a stronghold of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). The junta has denied involvement, but independent monitors have tracked increased aerial attacks in the region since the collapse of a fragile ceasefire last month.
Local medics are overwhelmed. 'We are pulling bodies from the rubble,' a KIA health worker told this correspondent via encrypted message. 'Children. The dead are mostly women and children.' The village, which had a population of roughly 800, was hit at 4 a.m. local time, catching residents in their sleep. Satellite images obtained by this newsroom show a crater approximately 30 metres wide at the epicentre of the blast, consistent with a 500-kilogram bomb.
The junta's military spokesman, Major General Zaw Min Tun, called the allegation 'baseless propaganda' in a state television broadcast. 'We do not target civilians. We are fighting terrorists,' he said. But three separate sources within Myanmar's military command structure, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the air force had authorised strikes in the area. 'They knew the village was KIA territory. The order came from Naypyidaw,' one source said.
This is not an isolated incident. Since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021, at least 3,500 civilians have been killed in similar attacks, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The junta has repeatedly used heavy weaponry against civilian targets, from schools to churches. In December, a bombing in Sagaing region killed 30 at a Christmas service.
The international community has condemned the latest attack. The UN Secretary General called it 'a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law'. But no sanctions have been imposed. The US State Department issued a statement urging 'restraint'. Restraint. The word tastes like ash.
Money follows the killing. Myanmar's military controls vast mining and gemstone operations, from jade in Kachin to rubies in Mogok. This reporter has seen documents showing that companies registered in Singapore and Thailand continue to buy directly from junta-linked entities. The EU's sanctions regime on Myanmar mining companies? Largely toothless. A senior Western diplomat, weary, told me: 'We know where the money goes. But there is no political will to stop it.'
The KIA, which has fought for autonomy for decades, says it will not be cowed. 'They want to erase us,' said a KIA spokesman. 'But we will fight.' The junta, meanwhile, is pushing for a national census, a prelude to elections it promises by 2025. Elections cannot be fair when your village lies in pieces.
At the hospital in the nearest town, a girl of maybe eight sits alone on a bench. Her dress is torn. She doesn't speak. Nobody has come to claim her. The doctors say her parents are likely among those who will never be identified. This is the cost of a war the world insists on ignoring.
The bodies will be buried in a mass grave by nightfall. The junta will deny. The money will flow. And tomorrow, another village will burn.
