Craven killing from above in Myanmar

A new art exhibition in Bangkok explores the horrific experience of civilians caught up in the unrelenting violence of air strikes in Myanmar.

“When We See The Planes”, an art and photography installation staged by the Myanmar artistic collective “A New Burma”, is “raising awareness about the violations of international law…in shedding light on the lived experiences of those affected, and in commemoration of those who are killed” from the regime’s widespread and intensifying aerial bombardments.

On the seven-month anniversary of the stunning Operation 1027 insurgent offensive launched by the Three Brotherhood Alliance, the State Administration Council (SAC) coup regime’s rising and largely indiscriminate use of air power comes amid the dramatic territorial gains made by multiple revolutionary forces in Shan, Karenni, Karen, Kachin and Rakhine states.

Prominent Myanmar think tank Nyan Linn Thit Analytica tracks the regime’s air strikes across Myanmar, a bombardment its fine-point research shows has been steadily rising in intensity and accuracy. In the first four months of 2024, the regime launched 819 airstrikes, or an average of six per day, resulting in the deaths of 359 civilians and the wounding of 756 others.

50 religious buildings, 38 schools and 11 health facilities were destroyed over the same four-month period. Compare this to the total number of documented airstrikes in previous years: 85 were launched in 2021, 339 in 2022 and then surged to 1,228 in 2023, Nyan Linn Thit Analytica’s research shows.

The resistance Telegram channel Enemy Air Route (EAR) currently informs the public of sightings and vector directions of various Myanmar Air Force (MAF) aircraft. EAR also publishes useful graphics of the locations