In the past two months, the Burma Army bombed a school, killing schoolchildren and two teachers, blew up a wedding, killing the bride and several guests, and has continued its bombing onslaught against survivors displaced by the March 28 earthquake.
The UN, ASEAN, and other international organizations have shown how impotent they are, as they condemn the junta but, have done nothing to bring the war to an end or to save the civilian population.
On May 12, 2025, the Myanmar junta conducted an airstrike on a school in Oe Htein Kwin village, Depayin Township, Sagaing Region, killing 24 civilians, 22 of them children, and injuring at least 102 others. Witnesses described a horrific scene of decapitated and dismembered bodies, blood-stained classrooms, school bags drenched in blood, and victims as young as seven. The bombing was one of the deadliest single attacks on children in recent memory.
Last week, a junta airstrike on a wedding in Kyunkyi village, Kyaukkyi Township, Bago Region, killed at least 10 civilians, including the bride, and injured over 20 others, seven critically. According to local resistance sources, the attack was unprovoked and occurred during a peaceful wedding reception, with no clashes reported in the area for years. The bomb struck near the food area, causing numerous injuries, and photos confirmed at least two children were among the dead.
Kyaukkyi lies in territory controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 3, one of the leading resistance armies. This was the first fighting seen in the area in over a year.
These attacks are not isolated, but part of a broader pattern of escalating explosive violence by the junta. Since the 2021 coup, more than 6,700 civilians have been killed and over 29,000 people, including more than 600 children, have been arrested, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
Civilian casualties from junta attacks rose by 857% between 2021 and 2024, and the junta is responsible for 95% of the 1,129 civilian casualties recorded so far in 2025. Children have been especially affected, with 242 harmed by explosive violence in 2024 and over 100 more injured or killed in just the first five months of 2025. Attacks on schools have become routine, with 151 student and teacher casualties from school bombings reported in 2024 alone.
According to the National Unity Government (NUG), the pro-democracy government in exile, the junta has launched 445 airstrikes since the March 28 earthquake. These strikes targeted homes, clinics, religious buildings, and displacement shelters. Sagaing, one of the regions hardest hit by both the war and the March 28 earthquake, remains the deadliest area for children. Since the coup, 247 child casualties have been documented there, largely due to relentless airstrikes and artillery shelling.
Despite junta claims that its operations are aimed at combating terrorism and maintaining order, critics note that civilians, including children, remain the primary targets, even during declared ceasefire periods.
In Shan State, the junta carried out 26 airstrikes in Ta’ang National Liberation Army areas during May, killing eight civilians and injuring 18. Monitors documented drone strikes, poison gas bombs, and coordinated artillery fire, all in civilian-populated zones. Most of the victims had no military affiliation.
In Karen State, civilians continue to be targeted as they shelter in displacement camps and jungle hideouts. On May 18, a school in Daw Hpa Hkoh Township was bombed, injuring the school principal. The region has faced consistent mortar fire and airstrikes, particularly in areas housing earthquake survivors.
Humanitarian access remains severely restricted, with aid convoys routinely blocked or delayed. Civilians in active conflict zones receive little to no international support, and quake-affected communities are left to fend for themselves. Despite repeated statements from world leaders and multilateral organizations, meaningful action has not followed.
Prior to the coup, only ethnic armed groups were fighting the junta in the jungles. Since then, city dwellers and members of the Bamar ethnic majority have joined the resistance, with people from all walks of life engaging in civil disobedience or taking up arms. Many doctors and nurses have abandoned their practices and relocated to the jungle, where they now treat wounded resistance fighters. Former engineers and university students live in makeshift military camps, manufacturing drones and weapons. Those unable to fight contribute in other ways—helping to bypass the junta’s stranglehold on information to document war crimes and smuggle out reports.
Others support the movement from abroad, sending their salaries home to help purchase medicine, food, and essential equipment. Yet these grassroots efforts are dwarfed by the billions of dollars the junta receives from China. Transporting supplies across international borders is often illegal, and shipments of medical aid, weapons, and communications equipment are frequently blocked. Couriers are arrested. Even life-saving drone jammers, which could protect civilians from airstrikes, are seized by customs authorities in other countries, leaving Burmese civilians exposed and defenseless.
Meanwhile, the flow of weapons to the junta from China and Russia continues without interruption, despite international sanctions. The utter failure of these sanctions underscores the weakness of ASEAN, the UN, and the broader international community. While all parties agree the junta is illegitimate and the killing of civilians is wrong, they have failed to stop the delivery of jet fuel and munitions to junta forces. Nor have they pushed for humanitarian corridors to deliver aid to civilians and resistance-held areas.
The March 28 earthquake should have been a wake-up call. When the junta denied access to international aid workers and restricted relief to junta-controlled zones, the global community should have realized the gravity of the situation and acted. Instead, as earthquake aid dwindles and the news cycle moves on, the junta continues its campaign of terror with impunity—escalating a war that now primarily targets Burma’s own people. As bombs fall on schools, homes, and weddings, the world watches, but does nothing.
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