How four years of war reduced Myanmar cities and towns to rubble

Satellite imagery shows how fire, shelling, and airstrikes have wrecked towns, cities and villages in resistance strongholds throughout the country.

When Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup d’etat in February 2021, residents of the western town of Thantlang were quick to mobilise, forming several resistance groups to counter the military offensive.

The town – located in the Christian-majority state of Chin – became a resistance stronghold. But like many other towns and cities across Myanmar, this came at a cost. Satellite imagery reveals how the once bustling Thantlang now resembles a ghost town.

The town’s proximity to Camp Victoria – the headquarters of the Chin National Front (CNF) and a strategic area on the Myanmar-India border – and its alignment with pro-democracy forces, soon made it a focal point of military aggression.

Clashes erupted between local resistance forces and the military in September 2021. In the weeks and months that followed, military forces shelled Thantlang. Satellite imagery, shown below, showed plumes of thick black smoke above the town in December 2021. By then, the Chinland Defence Force (CDF) claimed a total of 548 out of approximately 2,000 homes had been destroyed, with four churches and a high school also reduced to rubble.

Latest reports, direct to your inbox

Be the first to know when we release new reports - subscribe below for instant notifications.

Thantlang is not an isolated example.

Myanmar Witness has mapped and assessed damage to nine towns and cities – and in some cases, their surrounding villages – across six regions of Myanmar. Most of the destroyed towns or cities are located in areas where resistance forces are most active, or at strategic locations, such as near key roads or rivers, or close to borders with neighbouring countries.

Thantlang before the coup, in satellite imagery captured on 12 November 2020. Image: Google Earth © 2020 CNES/Airbus [Left]. Satellite imagery from 1 Feb 2023 shows how most of Thantlang had been destroyed. Image: Google Earth © 2023 Airbus [Right]

Schools and hospitals destroyed

Open source analysis carried out by Myanmar Witness, which draws on satellite imagery, media reporting, and user-generated content (UGC) from social media, reveals how cities, towns and villages in resistance strongholds or contested areas have been damaged or destroyed by airstrikes, shelling and fire after four years of war.

Many of the areas of destruction recorded by Myanmar Witness represented flashpoints of resistance during the 2021 coup, when pro-democracy demonstrations spread across the country.

In Demoso, Kayah State (Karenni), tens of thousands of protesters, including multiple town administrators, publicly opposed military rule in February 2021.

Peaceful protests soon morphed into armed resistance, and Demoso became a key battleground between the Myanmar military and local resistance forces. Since then, shelling, airstrikes and fire have damaged or destroyed homes, schools, churches, and hospitals, as well as infrastructure such as bridges.

According to open source analysis carried out by Data for Myanmar, as of 30 June 2024, 49 villages in the Kale township have experienced arson, resulting in the destruction of 5,588 civilian homes.

Villages in the southern part of the township, which borders the Magway region, experienced “widespread arson and destruction” in 2021 and 2022, while the northern villages, bordering Chin State, saw an increase in fire incidents by 2024.

“Those who do return home often find basic infrastructure and services crippled, and livelihoods damaged or destroyed. Residents live in fear of when the next airstrike might hit, or when fighting might start up again.”

Human rights organisations have drawn attention to the Myanmar military’s use of the longstanding “four cuts” strategy. It is aimed at restricting access to food, funding, information and recruits in a bid to hamper support for armed resistance groups and turn civilians against the resistance movement.

The destruction of entire cities and villages across Myanmar has consequences on multiple levels, notes Dolan, with local governance “effectively disabled”.

“It highlights how the SAC seems determined to chip away at the building blocks of society, to cause division within communities. By destroying the physical buildings that ensure local governance can continue, the military knows that this will also deal a huge psychological blow.”

Internal Displacement by Origin

The International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (IOM DTM) Weekly Displacement Snapshot 22 for Sudan estimated that around 6,397,698 people (which makes up 1,275,146 households) had to leave their homes and are now displaced within the country. Reports from field teams indicated that these internally displaced persons (IDPs) came from twelve different states.

Khartoum

A majority, 56%, were displaced from Khartoum state the capital of Sudan and the epicentre of the conflict totalling 3,556,958 as per the IOM-DTM latest report.

Many of them have taken refuge in Aj Jazirah, River Nile, Northern, Gedarif, Kassala, Sennar, Red Sea, and White Nile States.

South Darfur

Following Khartoum, comes South Darfur second as an origin of internal displacement with (15%) which is equivalent to 975,088 as reported by the DTM. The biggest displacement from South Darfur followed the clashes in Nyala and the burning of villages around it.

On the other side of the country, in Rakhine State, the Arakan Army (AA) has claimed control over strategic areas, including Maungdaw and Buthidaung, aiming to establish dominance along the border with Bangladesh.

Satellite imagery shows that most of Buthidaung town has been burnt. According to the UN, the burning started on 17 May 2024, two days after the military had retreated and the AA claimed to have taken full control. However, the AA denied its role in the fires, claiming they were a result of a military airstrike. The AA has reportedly turned on the Rohingya minority in areas it controls, allegedly shelling villages and forcing thousands to flee their homes in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships.

Share Article