May 2, 2025
When a devastating earthquake hit Myanmar in March, the military regime ruling the country was quick to capitalize on the devastation, launching airstrikes on civilian rescue crews just hours after the earthquake struck. In contrast to the junta, the National Unity Government, which opposes the junta, quickly announced a ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian activities, which was eventually reciprocated by the junta.
The earthquake left 3,800 people dead and more than 5,000 injured, according to the U.N.
The junta has repeatedly broken the ceasefire agreement, according to civil society and media sources, including the acclaimed open-source research group Bellingcat, which documented at least 22 villages bombed by the junta in violation of the ceasefire agreement.
The ceasefire, which was extended in mid-April, was scheduled to expire on April 30. As the date approached, the junta did not make it clear whether it would be extended, though analysts expressed doubt as to the effect of such an extension should it be announced, given the regular violations to date.
The fact that the military junta, known locally as the Tatmadaw, would bomb civilians while they were working to rescue each other from the rubble of an earthquake is “nothing short of incredible,” Tom Andrews, the U.N. special rapporteur on Human Rights, told the BBC shortly after the earthquake.
“Anyone who has influence on the [Tatmadaw],” he said, “needs to step up the pressure and make it very clear that this is not acceptable.” China and Russia, longtime allies of the Tatmadaw, have helped to provide emergency relief services in the wake of the earthquake, but have not commented on the bombings. Both countries have provided consistent military and economic support for the Tatmadaw despite sweeping international sanctions.
The United States recently cut back on assistance and development aid to Myanmar as part of broader cuts to international aid, and reports indicate that it has not matched China and Russia’s emergency relief assistance since the earthquake.
In March, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a report criticizing the country for its systematic repression of religious minorities and urging the international community to increase attention to the plight of the persecuted in Myanmar.
“The country has seen the displacement of over 3.5 million people in recent years,” the USCIRF report noted, “including more than 90,000 in Christian-majority Chin state, 237,200 in Kachin state, and one million Muslim-majority Rohingya refugees.” March’s earthquake and the airstrikes that followed have only increased these high levels of displacement.
Though a strong majority of the population is ethnic Burman, and an even greater percentage is Buddhist, the communities that make up the remainder are well-established, well-organized, and for the most part predate the formation of the modern state by centuries.
In many cases, Myanmar’s ethnic minorities have taken on a distinct religious identity as well. About 20% to 30% of ethnic Karen are Christians, while other groups, such as the Chin, are more than 90% Christian. This overlap of ethnic and religious identity has created a volatile situation for believers.
Representing an extremist interpretation of Buddhism, the Burmese military has a long history of violence against the people of Myanmar, including against ethnic and religious minorities like the Muslim-majority Rohingya and Christian-majority Chin.
The junta is known to abduct children, forcing them to walk ahead of their troops through minefields. In many cases, their victims are members of ethnic and religious minority communities fighting back against the atrocities of a military that has waged a decades-long war of ethnic and religious cleansing.
Despite this support, experts believe that the Burmese military is atrophying rapidly, with as few as 150,000 personnel remaining after the loss of about 21,000 through casualties or desertions since the 2021 coup. This number is significantly smaller than previous estimates of 300,000 to 400,000 and calls into question the junta’s ability to sustain its nationwide military campaign, especially after a series of high-profile losses in recent years.
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SOURCE: International Christian Concern