A video of a factory fire in southern Taiwan has surfaced amid social media posts that falsely linked the blaze to recent fighting between the Burmese military and ethnic rebels in Myanmar’s northern Shan State. The clip matches other footage of the fire at an industrial park in Tainan published by Taiwanese media.
“Blast at ammunition storage facility in Laukkai targeted for the third time,” read a Burmese-language Facebook post dated July 19, 2024.
Myanmar’s junta repeatedly bombed Laukkai in July, a town near the border with China that has been held by the rebel Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army since January 2024 (archived link).
The last attack took place on August 2 and hit a hospital, killing 10 people (archived link).
The accompanying 30-second video showed a huge column of black smoke rising into the air from a distant fire.
In the video, a male voice can be heard saying: “Laukkai has been bombed in an air raid. The ammunition storage has been destroyed.”
A sticker in Burmese repeats the claim.