Burma: dozens dead in an explosion in rebel-controlled territory

Dozens of people were killed Sunday in an explosion in northern Burma, in territory controlled by rebels, who cited the accidental detonation of explosive devices.

A rescue worker from Namhka district in Shan State, where the blast took place, said 46 people were killed, including children, and 70 injured. Another rescuer put the number at 59 dead. Both requested anonymity for security reasons.

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The first rescuer said that this strong explosion had destroyed many houses and that the injured had been transported to a local hospital. “There could be other deaths under the destroyed houses”he warned. The second rescuer specified that the bodies had been recovered by emergency teams to be cremated.

Myanmar has been plunged into civil war since the military seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021, with the junta battling a series of democracy-fighting guerrillas and powerful ethnic minority armed groups.

“Accidental” explosion

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), one of the country’s most powerful ethnic rebel groups, said an outbreak “accidental” of stored explosives, intended for use in mines and quarries, occurred on Sunday, around 12:00 p.m. (05:00 GMT), in the commune of Namhkam, in Shan State. “Many villagers lost their lives, were injured and had their homes damaged.” because of the explosion, declared in a press release the guerrilla which controls this territory, without however specifying the number of victims.

The TNLA also stressed that the explosives belonged to its economic department and that an investigation to determine the cause of the tragedy had been opened. In Burma, many rebel groups depend on the exploitation of precious minerals to finance their operations against the government army. However, accidents and collapses are common in mines, where safety standards are almost non-existent.

The conflict that broke out after the coup has fragmented Burma, where dozens of armed groups, in addition to the junta, impose their law, in more or less opaque conditions, which benefit trafficking of all kinds. At the beginning of 2024, three armed groups, including the TNLA, had concluded ceasefire agreements with the generals in power negotiated by China. But in the summer of the same year, the TNLA launched attacks against junta troops in the Mandalay region (north) and in the neighboring state of Shan.

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The guerrillas then took the town of Mogok, known to be the epicenter of lucrative ruby ​​mining in Burma, before accepting a withdrawal in October 2025, once again with the mediation of Beijing. China is a key player in Burma’s civil war, analysts say, supporting both opposition groups and the junta on a varying scale depending on its economic and security interests.