Leader of Myanmar armed group says world is ignoring military’s deadly airstrikes

LOI TAI LENG, Myanmar – The head of one of Myanmar’s influential ethnic armies accused world leaders of ignoring the ruling military’s surge in deadly airstrikes on civilians, adding that only China was intervening in the conflict.

Reuters was the only international outlet present for the leader’s first meeting with media in years, just days after an election held by the South-east Asian nation’s ruling junta that cemented the military’s grip on power.

“The civilians are suffering and I want the international community not to ignore it,” said Yawd Serk, a general who chairs the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), speaking at his mountaintop base.

The world has failed to stop the turmoil as the military steps up bombing campaigns across the country, he added, citing airstrikes that have hit more than 1,000 civilian locations in 15 months, according to data from the Myanmar Peace Monitor.

“Nowadays, we can’t even think who we can rely on,” added Yawd Serk, whose group controls strategic territory between China and Thailand, and is headquartered at Loi Tai Leng, an isolated town perched between forest-clad hills on the Thai border.

Myanmar has been engulfed in nationwide conflict since a military coup in 2021 that toppled the government of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the first democratic administration in half a century.

Since late 2024, air attacks have killed at least 1,728 civilians, slowing the advance of pro-democracy forces that lack an air force. The junta says it is targeting terrorists.

Speaking after a military parade for Shan National Day, Yawd Serk called for trust-building among Myanmar’s array of armed factions, adding that political dialogue with the military was still needed to end the war.

A spokesperson for the ruling junta did not immediately answer telephone calls to seek comment.