“Crashing Down on Us” 51 The woman described to Fortify Rights symptoms consistent with severe traumatic stress, including being unable to eat or sleep properly.89 She continued: I lost four relatives [in the attack]. The youngest was my 24-year-old cousin. He was disabled due to a motorbike accident … and he worked as a painter. I mourn his loss a lot because he was so young and talented despite the adversity he faced in life. I want to tell you more about the other three, but every time I think about them, I want to cry more.90 A 45-year-old Laiza resident told Fortify Rights he visited the impact area the day after the bombing, on October 10, 2023: “The drop area was like half an acre. I saw a lot of destruction. The surrounding area of the drop site looked like a cyclone had come in. Some of the houses’ roofs were blown off.”91 He said that the junta military’s base nearest Laiza is around Lailum Awngja—known among junta soldiers as Awngja—and that they often shell toward Laiza. Describing the October 9 attack, he said: It was different from how it felt and exploded before. Usually, the junta troops use 120- or 150mm mortars, and it wasn’t like that this time. It didn’t sound like the usual heavy artillery shelling. … It happened so quickly that I could hear the speeding sound pheeee and then a loud bang and an explosion.92 Military junta spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun claimed on junta-controlled media that the junta was investigating the explosion in Munglai Hkyet, and he suggested it was caused by the KIA’s own munitions.93 The KIA denied the allegation. KIA spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu told Fortify Rights: As KIA/KIO, we do not have any munition warehouse nor store any weapons in Munglai Hkyet or anywhere around the village. Additionally, there are no KIA outposts, any military-related outposts, or offices in the village. The area where the bomb dropped was a clearing on the side of the road, and there was no infrastructure there. The junta’s accusation that it was the explosion of the KIA munition depot is completely inaccurate.94 Survivors of the attack in Munglai Hkyet told Fortify Rights that the KIA was not present in the village ahead of the attack and that the village, housing internally displaced families and others, served no military purpose.95 A displaced Kachin woman who survived the October 9 attack told Fortify Rights: The site of the explosion used to be a football field. During the COVID pandemic, the field was used as a temporary warehouse for goods delivered from Myitkyina to Laiza. There are small shops around and a car repair shop. … Since last year, it has been used to store charcoal. There were a lot of charcoal trucks around there. … There are soldiers traveling through the village. But I have never seen them stop or park in the village. I mean KIA soldiers. Junta soldiers cannot come into the village. When there are clashes around Nam Sam Yang, KIA vehicles pass through the village, and that’s the time I see them. There are no other [armed] groups in the village also.96 Fortify Rights communicated with another resident of Munglai Hkyet, who also confirmed that there was no KIA presence in the village nor a munitions warehouse: 89 Ibid. 90 Fortify Rights interview with B.F., Laiza, Waingmaw Township, Kachin State, Myanmar, October 12, 2023. 91 Fortify Rights interview with Z.H., Laiza, Waingmaw Township, Kachin State, Myanmar, October 10, 2023; See also, Fortify Rights, “U.N. Member States: Coordinate a Global Arms Embargo on Myanmar.” 92 Ibid. 93 “Explosion in Laiza: SAC Information Team Leader Responded,” Myanmar International TV, October 10, 2023, https:// www.myanmaritv.com/news/explosion-laiza-sac-information-team-leader-responded. 94 Fortify Rights interview with B.H., Laiza, Waingmaw Township, Kachin State, Myanmar, November 21, 2023. 95 Fortify Rights interviews with B.F., Laiza, Waingmaw Township, Kachin State, Myanmar, October 12, November 8 and 22, 2024; Fortify Rights interviews with C.F., Laiza, Waingmaw Township, Kachin State, Myanmar, November 8 and 22, 2024; and Fortify Rights communication with C.B., Laiza, Waingmaw Township, Kachin State, October 31 and November 8, 2024. 96 Fortify Rights interview with B.F., Laiza, Waingmaw Township, Kachin State, Myanmar, November 22, 2023.