Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Destroy Thousands of Homes in Kachin’s Shwegu Township

Thousands of homes across 18 villages in Kachin State’s Shwegu Township have been destroyed by Myanmar military airstrikes over the past six weeks, according to the local resistance-led Shwegu Township People’s Administration.

Regime forces initially launched ground offensives in June to retake territory controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and allied resistance forces. However, a counteroffensive by the KIA-led coalition forced junta troops to retreat to downtown Shwegu in July, where they remain stationed.

Following the retreat, the military unleashed daily bombardments across the township from August through September 10.

“Fighter jets have been dropping bombs two to three times a day,” an official from the Shwegu Township People’s Administration said. “Villages along both banks of the Ayeyarwady River and surrounding the town have been hit. In places like Lanku and Myaingthar, almost every house has been destroyed.”

Local sources report that Lanku, Myaingthar, Pantin, Zinbon, Weama, and Nanpaung have suffered near-total destruction. Other affected villages—including Thinbawinn, Moesit, Yaele, Bokone, Paukkone, Kyauktalone, Kyuntaw, Tawlang, Ngarbatgyi, Ngarbatwa, Kyaukkyi, and Shwegulay—have lost roughly half of their housing stock.

In addition to residential homes, airstrikes targeted civilian infrastructure unrelated to active combat, destroying schools, monasteries, and livestock.

The intensified air campaign follows failed regime efforts to resupply troops via the Ayeyarwady River. In late August, a 15-vessel junta flotilla attempting to transport reinforcements and supplies between Shwegu and Bhamo suffered heavy losses in riverine ambushes by KIA forces.

Several vessels were destroyed, and over 100 junta personnel were captured as prisoners of war.

The military currently controls only downtown Shwegu and its immediate surroundings, while resistance forces maintain control over most rural areas of the township. Shwegu previously suffered widespread damage in 2022 and 2023, when junta troops burned down nearly 30 villages during ground operations.