Myanmar Witness Archives

Mar 31

How four years of war reduced Myanmar cities and towns to rubble

Satellite imagery shows how fire, shelling and airstrikes have wrecked towns, cities and villages in resistance strongholds throughout the country.

Rare earth mining

Mar 18

Uncovered: The devastating impact of Myanmar’s rare earth mining boom

Satellite image analysis reveals how a rapid expansion of mining sites in the country’s northeast has altered the region’s physical landscape. The impacts are devastating – for both the environment and local communities.

Violence Fires Airstrike Myanmar

Feb 20

Why is Sagaing the epicentre of Myanmar's conflict?

Since the 2021 coup, CIR’s Myanmar Witness project has been collecting and analysing data which shows cases of extreme violence and destruction throughout the country. According to Myanmar Witness’ findings, Myanmar’s central-northwestern Sagaing region is most heavily affected by the internal conflict, repeatedly showing the highest levels of violence in the entire country. This makes Sagaing the so-called “epicentre” of Myanmar’s conflict and a region facing an urgent humanitarian crisis. We explain:

Fires Violence Displacement

Jan 31

Four years on from Myanmar coup, open source monitoring remains critical

On 1 February 2021, the military launched a coup d'état in Myanmar. Within hours, General Min Aung Hlaing seized power and arrested elected leaders, overthrowing Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government.

Oct 16

How To Use the Myanmar TimeMap

The ‘Myanmar TimeMap’ is an interactive map of Myanmar which contains information on verified and alleged human rights abuses in Myanmar.

Oct 16

Myanmar Civil War

The Myanmar Civil War has been raging for over seven decades, fueled by ethnic and political tensions and complicated by the military’s interference in the country’s governance.

Airstrike Gender-Based Violence

Oct 14

Impact of 'pacify through fear' strategy from Myanmar military

An investigation by CIR’s Myanmar Witness project reveals the civilian harm resulting from a new military offensive.

Education Myanmar

Jul 19

Open source analysis finds increasing damage to Myanmar’s schools with more than 170 incidents since military coup

Damage to Myanmar's schools and universities has left a generation of school children “caught in the crossfire”.

Guide Arms

Jul 6

Myanmar Witness Small Arms Guide

This guide has analysed open sources of information, ranging from leaked military documentation to user-generated content (UGC) across social and broadcast media platforms, to identify and verify specific small arms and light weapons present across the conflict in Myanmar post February 2021 Coup.