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Victims of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Bring a Case Against the Myanmar Junta in Timor-Leste

January 15, 2026/in Member statements

Dili, 12 January 2026: A group representing victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Myanmar junta have presented a criminal complaint to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Timor-Leste, requesting the opening of an investigation. According to the head of the delegation, Salai Za Uk, Executive Director of the Chin Human Rights […]

Airstrikes kill Katha IDPs returning home to retrieve belongings

January 7, 2026/in News

In Katha Town, Sagaing Region, where nearly the entire population was displaced by fighting, some residents who briefly returned to collect their belongings were killed in junta airstrikes. Late last year, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), People’s Defence Force (PDF) under the National Unity Government, the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), the People’s Liberation […]

Victims of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Bring a Case Against the Myanmar Junta in Timor-Leste

January 15, 2026/in Member statements

Airstrikes kill Katha IDPs returning home to retrieve belongings

January 7, 2026/in News

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Victims of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Bring a Case Against the Myanmar Junta in Timor-Leste

January 15, 2026/in Member statements

According to the head of the delegation, Salai Za Uk, Executive Director of the Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO), the criminal file includes “evidence of the gang rape of a pregnant woman; the massacre of ten people, including a journalist and a 13-year-old boy, who was among eight people who had their throats slit; the deliberate killing of one Christian Pastor and three Deacons; a disproportionate and indiscriminate aerial attack on a hospital which killed four medical staff and four patients, and a series of attacks on Christian churches”.

Accountability for these crimes is permissible in Timor-Leste under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows state authorities to take action regardless of where the crimes took place or the nationality of the victims and perpetrators.

A senior member of the Timorese legal team, Jose Teixeira (who worked with his colleague Nuno Marazes are the lead lawyers from Timorese law firm Da Silva Teixeira & Associados Lda), said “the case will place minimal pressure on Timor-Leste’s judicial system. All the evidence we presented has been meticulously documented and reconfirmed by CHRO. In addition, the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) established by the UN, has a large body of verified evidence which can be made available to the Timorese authorities as part of their investigation”.

The crimes in the Timor-Leste complaint were committed in Myanmar’s predominantly Christian Chin State, which according to Salai Za Uk has seen “a deliberate, systematic, widespread, disproportionate and indiscriminate campaign of violence against civilians”.

Since July 2022, the military junta had carried out around 1,000 documented air strikes in the state. More than 4,600 homes have been destroyed by airstrikes or deliberately burnt down. 478 civilians have been killed, including 91 women and 79 children. At least 19 medical facilities, 25 schools and 127 religious buildings, including 78 churches, have been damaged or destroyed, according to CHRO figures.

The situation in Chin State is reflected across the country. According to the latest data from the UN and other credible sources, as of 31 March 2025, at least 6,473 civilians were killed by junta forces, including 1,487 women and 748 children. Over 30,000 have been detained and over 22,000 remain in detention. Nearly 2,000 people have died in military detention, with well documented cases of dozens being tortured to death. 172 people have been sentenced to death by military-controlled courts.

The UN estimates that violence in Myanmar has displaced more than 3.5 million people – over 5 per cent of the population – and although nearly 20 million are in need of assistance, according to the UN, the military has consistently blocked humanitarian access, even after natural disasters, including the earthquake in March 2025. Best estimates indicate that more than 1.5 million Myanmar people have crossed international borders by land or sea in search of safety, through regular and irregular channels, which has created a regional refugee crisis with dire human rights and humanitarian challenges.

The complainants hope that the case will resonate powerfully with the Timorese people, given Myanmar and Timor-Leste’s similar modern histories. Like Timor-Leste, says Salai Za Uk, “Myanmar was ruled for generations by Western colonials and, like Timor-Leste, Myanmar’s post-independence period saw vicious atrocity crimes perpetrated against innocent people. Since the coup there have been numerous attacks by the Myanmar junta on unarmed demonstrators in which thousands have been killed. They bring to mind the infamous Santa Cruz Massacre in Dili in 1991 in which over 250 demonstrators were murdered in cold blood”.

The Timor-Leste case is supported by the Myanmar Accountability Project, whose director, Chris Gunness, argues that “if the authorities in Timor-Leste took the simple step of opening an investigation it would send a powerful message, widely accepted across the ASEAN, that the situation in Myanmar is unsustainable and must change. The legal case in Dili offers an opportunity for solidarity with some of the most marginalized and isolated people in the ASEAN region”.

Salai Za Uk appealed for support to Timorese civil society, the Catholic Church and all Timorese people of conscience. “Given the position on human rights and accountability taken by leading politicians and other influential voices in Timor-Leste, the Chin People earnestly believe that our call for accountability will be heard. And we fervently hope that as Christians, our prayers for justice, peace and dignity, on behalf of the people of Myanmar, will be answered”.

Airstrikes kill Katha IDPs returning home to retrieve belongings

January 7, 2026/in News

In Katha Town, Sagaing Region, where nearly the entire population was displaced by fighting, some residents who briefly returned to collect their belongings were killed in junta airstrikes.

Late last year, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), People’s Defence Force (PDF) under the National Unity Government, the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and the Spring Revolution Alliance (SRA) launched a joint offensive to seize Katha Town near the Kachin State border, triggering heavy clashes.

Fighting in Katha began on December 28, the same day junta-supervised Phase 1 voting took place. Since then, it has carried out airstrikes on villages on the outskirts of Katha Town, with aircraft bombing nearly the entire town except the downtown area.

The clashes have forced residents to flee as internally displaced people (IDPs), seeking refuge in villages along the Ayeyarwady River near Katha, as well as in Mabein Town in Shan State, Monghnyin Town and the state capital Myitkyina in Kachin State, and Mandalay City in Mandalay Region.

“Some IDPs took the risk and went back into town to collect their belongings. Some of them were killed when bombs hit during airstrikes, though others managed to return safely. Many people who had to leave everything behind when they fled were in deep distress, with nothing they could do but cry. Some who went back temporarily were killed by the bombing, so we didn’t dare to return—we were too afraid,” said a woman currently taking refuge in Mabein.

A Grade 12 student who tried to return to town to retrieve belongings was killed in an airstrike, said a local from a riverside village on the outskirts of Katha who is currently displaced.

“The kid was killed in a junta airstrike on Weagyi Village near Katha. He had fled Katha and went back briefly two days later to collect his belongings, but that’s when the tragedy happened,” he told KNG.

On January 2, a junta aircraft bombed Henar Village, about 15 miles from Katha, killing a man in his 50s and injuring three civilians.

In 2023, at the height of armed resistance nationwide, resistance forces gained control of most rural areas of Katha Township, except for downtown Katha.

BNI

Other Human Rights Reports

Myanmar Mechanism investigations reveal deliberate attacks on civilians by the Myanmar military – Annual ReportAugust 12, 2026 - 9:49 am
Geneva, 11 August 2026 – Investigations by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (Mechanism), as detailed in its Annual Report released today, show a pattern of deliberate aerial attacks on civilians, arbitrary detentions, torture and sexual violence committed by the Myanmar military. The Myanmar military escalated its aerial attacks and other crimes against civilians in the lead-up to […]

Spring Revolution

Civil Society Position Paper on ASEAN’s Goal of a Myanmar-Owned and -Led SolutionDecember 18, 2024 - 12:11 pm
Recommendations to ASEAN and Its Member States (1) Move beyond the 5PC to achieve a Myanmar people-led and people-centered solution to the crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN’s “Myanmar-owned and -led” approach must be backed by genuine political will that aligns with and supports the collective aspirations of the people of Myanmar. (2) Cease all pressure on […]
The Airstrikes after the journey to the China of the Junta Military LeaderDecember 10, 2024 - 1:28 pm
Operation 1027 was a coordinated military attack against the junta on October 27th, 2023. It was carried out by the Northern Brotherhood, which includes the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. Several months later, the Three Brotherhood Alliance held three meetings to negotiate with China on January 11 […]

Multimedia

GenocideSeptember 2, 2025 - 9:42 am
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International Humanitarian Law Cartoon AnimatonApril 29, 2025 - 8:37 am
အတိတ်မှ ဆိုးရွားသည့် အကြီးအကျယ် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများ ထပ်မံမဖြစ်ပွားစေရေးအ တွက် အာမခံခြင်း (Guarantees of non-recurrence)February 10, 2025 - 9:58 am

ND Burma

ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.

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