Daily labourers working in these mines are paid low wages and work in extremely dangerous conditions, where landslides and mine collapses are common. Critically, there has been an environmental toll, with the scale of degradation affecting families and communities in Kachin State. Mining leaves water supplies dangerously contaminated with heavy metals and radioactive elements.1 In response to these concerns, there have been locally-led efforts against forcibly resuming the stalled Myitsone Dam project, which would not only destroy water sources but also the biodiversity of the area.2 It is important to note that while the junta attempts to gain legitimacy, widespread attacks are taking place across Kachin State with alarming frequency. Throughout 2025 alone, Kachin Human Rights Watch (KHRW) reported that a total of 133 people were killed across Kachin State due to airstrikes, drone attacks, and artillery shelling by the junta.3 Among the dead were 7 children and 10 women, underscoring a rise in violent attacks compared with previous years.4 The junta’s aggressive pursuit of territory in Kachin State includes up to 50 airstrikes each day in the strategic city of Bhamo.5 The military’s sham pre-election campaign period in particular, saw an increase in violence across the country, with Kachin State listed alongside Rakhine State as experiencing the highest death tolls from airstrikes, with at least 20 people killed in a single wave of air raids.6 Just days before voting in late January 2026, a deadly military airstrike hit a village in Bhamo Township where displaced people were sheltering, killing 21 people and injuring 28 others.7 Again in February, the junta carried out 85 airstrikes in four days on KIA controlled territories, resulting in at least 100 bombs dropped.8 “These acts are deeply inhumane. Innocent people are dying daily because of the military’s brutality - this is injustice, and it fuels resistance. People are being injured and killed. It’s a systematic slaughter. Justice under the law is the only way forward," said a local civilian, Naw Naw. Policy Brief: Widespread Environmental and Human Rights Damages from Rare Earth Mining in Kachin State, Myanmar, Linked to Green Energy Industry, EarthRights International, 1 May 2025 2 Joint Statement of Opposition to efforts to resume the Myitsone Dam Project by 49 Civil Society Organizations and Kachin residents, Kachin Human Rights Watch, 5 May 2026 3 Junta’s terror campaign in Kachin State kills 7 children, 10 women in one year, Burma News International, 20 January 2026 4 Ibid 5 Ibid 6 Junta launched 100 deadly airstrikes during election, The Irrawaddy, 4 February 2026 7 A Myanmar military airstrike on a village sheltering displaced people killed 21, rebels say, The Associated Press, 23 January 2026 8 Junta carries out 85 airstrikes in four days on KIA-controlled territories, BNI, 27 February 2026 1 4 | "Inhumane Acts" by KHRW