On 28 March 2025, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, devastating areas home to over 17 million people. In the hardest hit areas around Mandalay and Sagaing, home to 9.1 million people, homes, hospitals, schools, and critical infrastructure reduced to rubble. Entire communities have been uprooted and forced into makeshift shelters with limited access to water, sanitation, and healthcare. Markets have been disrupted, psychosocial distress is on the rise, and essential services are on the verge of collapse.
The Myanmar military junta has exacerbated the catastrophe. Despite declaring a ceasefire, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) reports that between 28 March and 18 April, the military conducted 211 airstrikes across 157 locations and engaged in clashes in at least 86 areas, including against resistance groups claiming ceasefires. The junta’s weaponisation of humanitarian access and ongoing violence obstructs aid delivery and deepens civilian suffering.
On the 11th of May, a junta airstrike struck a school in the village of Oe Htein Kwin—around 100 kilometres (65 miles) northwest of the epicentre of the March 28 quake—at approximately 10:00 am, locals reported. The attack claimed the lives of 22 individuals, including 20 children and two teachers. The UN stated that since the earthquake, over 200 civilians have been killed in at least 243 military attacks, comprising 171 airstrikes. An airstrike aimed at schoolchildren.
Myanmar Campaign Network Australia (MCN) is calling on the Australian Government, elected in 2025, to act decisively:
- Expand Targeted Sanctions and Accountability: Strengthen sanctions against the Myanmar military, its leaders, and entities profiting from resource exploitation. Australia must champion global accountability by supporting International Criminal Court (ICC) investigations into junta leaders for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the deaths of 87 individuals in custody between September and December 2024.
The Australian Government has a moral and strategic obligation to respond. The junta’s actions and the earthquake’s devastation threaten regional stability and human lives. MCN urges Australia to move beyond rhetoric, delivering concrete actions to support justice, civilian protection, and Myanmar’s democratic restoration. Inaction risks enabling the junta’s impunity and ASEAN’s inertia.
How You Can Help: Support APHEDA’s solidarity efforts for Myanmar’s people by donating to our current appeal for partners affected but aid cuts in the Myanmar border or joining MCN’s advocacy campaigns by visiting our website or contacting us at contact@myanmarcampaignnetwork.org
Together, we can amplify the call for justice and aid for those in need.