On the night of October 9, Seng Mai's world was shattered by a deafening explosion that ripped through her shelter in Mung Lai Hkyet, a camp for people displaced by conflict in northern Myanmar's Kachin State. The 21-year-old was jolted from her sleep, and what followed was a nightmarish ordeal.

"The sound was so loud that I wondered whether I had even survived," Seng Mai recounted. As rounds of mortar fire rained down from a nearby military post, she sought refuge in a makeshift trench, joining the frantic efforts of others to escape the devastation.

"A grandmother was crying and shouting for help. My mother was running barefoot," she said. "Children were also running in the dark, struggling to reach a safe place."

When the bombardment finally ceased, the toll became painfully evident. Twenty-eight civilians, including 12 children, had lost their lives, and numerous shelters, a kindergarten, and a church lay in ruins. Rights groups pointed fingers at the military, which seized power from Myanmar's elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, but the military has steadfastly denied responsibility for the attack.

This incident is not isolated, as the military in Myanmar has a troubling history of targeting civilians and civilian areas. Their actions have grown even more brazen since the coup, according to a United Nations-appointed investigative mechanism. In August, this mechanism revealed "compelling evidence" that the military had committed "more frequent and audacious war crimes and crimes against humanity."

Further supporting these allegations, a report published by the UN's human rights office last month highlighted the grim reality: the military has been responsible for the deaths of at least 3,800 civilians, the destruction of nearly 75,000 civilian properties, and close to 1,000 air strikes in the two and a half years since the coup.

The report emphasizes the military's growing confidence in impunity, which has led to an escalation in the intensity and brutality of its actions. As a result, Myanmar finds itself ensnared in a seemingly endless spiral of military violence that has permeated all aspects of life in the country.

This tragic event in Mung Lai Hkyet serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for international attention and intervention to end the suffering of Myanmar's displaced population and to bring those responsible for such atrocities to justice. The world cannot stand idly by while innocent lives are shattered by violence and conflict