Eyewitnesses report at least 50 killed and nearly 80 injured as Myanmar’s junta unleashes a series of airstrikes on villages across its central plains, targeting areas suspected of harboring opposition militias.
BY PC Bureau
A brutal three-day aerial assault by Myanmar’s junta has left a trail of devastation across the central plains, claiming the lives of at least 50 people and leaving nearly 80 wounded, according to eyewitness accounts relayed to Radio Free Asia. This latest surge in violence underscores the junta’s relentless efforts to quell resistance from the dozens of militias seeking autonomy since the 2021 coup.
In a grim pattern, the military has responded to insurgent activity by bombing villages suspected of providing shelter, with civilians often bearing the brunt of these attacks. Since seizing power in 2021, the junta has faced mounting resistance from numerous militias seeking regional autonomy. In response to insurgent activities, the military has frequently resorted to bombing villages suspected of harboring rebels, often with tragic consequences for civilian populations.
The latest wave of violence, spanning from Friday to Sunday, saw the junta claim the lives of 20 individuals in the Mandalay region. Kyi Tauk Pauk village in Singu township and Leik Kya and Yae Htwet villages in Thabeikkyin township were targeted.
“A 500-pound bomb fell. Four men and two women were injured, all middle-aged,” a resident of Kyi Tauk Pauk told RFA. The resident added that a junta aircraft struck around 2 p.m. on Friday, destroying three dormitories at the local school.
A three-day onslaught of junta airstrikes, spanning much of Myanmar’s central plains, killed 50 people and injured nearly 80, sources told Radio Free Asia on Monday.https://t.co/31bgQqsnBp… pic.twitter.com/lgdWjLZYNA
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In Leik Kya village, an airstrike claimed the lives of 12 civilians, including one child, three women, and eight men, and left three others injured, according to a member of a local Pyinoolwin militia aligned with the exiled civilian National Unity Government (NUG). This militia member, also speaking anonymously told RFA Â that the aircraft originated from Meiktila Air Base, near the Shan state border, and dropped a 300-pound bomb before opening fire on the village.
Saturday afternoon brought further devastation to Yae Htwet, where residents reported that two bombs killed 24 people and injured nearly 20. They fear the death toll may rise due to the critical condition of many of the injured, and confirmed that several young children were among the deceased.
In response to these atrocities, the NUG announced on Monday its intention to pursue all necessary actions to hold the military accountable for its violent crimes against the public. This escalation of violence comes despite ceasefire declarations by both the junta and the NUG following the country’s March 28 earthquake, which resulted in thousands of deaths. The struggle for territory, tragically culminating in junta bombings, has persisted.
Beyond the central plains, other villages in Rakhine state and Sagaing region, both considered strongholds of insurgent activity involving NUG-led militias and the Arakan Army, were also targeted. The Arakan Army is currently engaged in a fight for self-determination and has reportedly captured 14 of Rakhine’s 17 townships.
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On Saturday afternoon, junta airstrikes on a residential ward of Kyauktaw town in Rakhine, which remains under military control, killed two civilians and injured 20 others, including three children, according to local residents.
Tragedy also struck a monastery in Mon state’s Bilin township on Saturday morning during a religious ceremony. The rebel administration Karen National Union (KNU), which controls parts of Kayin and Mon states, reported that a junta airstrike killed a 10-year-old monk named Kaylatha, along with 60-year-old Ma Wai and 69-year-old Hla Myint. Nine other civilians sustained injuries in this attack.
In Sagaing region, a Sunday evening attack on Thin Taw village saw two bombs decimate a store, killing six members of the same family, according to a resident who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisal. “One bomb hit the store exactly and killed the whole family,” the resident recounted, identifying the victims as 20-year-old Mi Thay, 30-year-old Min Min, Khin Ma (around 50 years old), Kyaw Min Kyi, Phone Maw, and a woman known as ‘Mrs. Saw.’ Two other men were injured in the same attack.
Earlier on Saturday morning, in Myinmu township, junta forces bombed a camp for internally displaced people, resulting in the deaths of three civilians – three-year-old Su Myat, 17-year-old May Zun Oo, and 69-year-old Tin Maung – and injuries to eight others, including a five-year-old child, according to residents.
As of the time of reporting, junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun has not responded to inquiries from Radio Free Asia regarding these incidents.
