A monastery turned into a battlefield—Myanmar’s military bombed a wedding, killing villagers who were merely helping prepare food. With over 1,769 killed by airstrikes in 2024 alone, the junta’s reign of terror shows no signs of stopping.
BY PC Bureau
Myanmar Junta Bombs Wedding Party in Magway, Killing 10 Amid Escalating Airstrike Campaign
Son Kone, Myanmar – In a chilling escalation of Myanmar’s civil war, the Myanmar Air Force bombed a wedding celebration for two pro-democracy fighters in Son Kone village, Magway region, on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, killing at least 10 people and injuring many others, according to members of the anti-junta People’s Defense Force (PDF). The mid-morning airstrike, which obliterated a monastery hosting the event, has drawn fierce condemnation from resistance groups and reignited global calls to curb the junta’s aerial terror tactics, even as pro-military voices defend the strike as a legitimate blow against insurgents.
A Wedding Turned Tragedy
The attack occurred in Son Kone, a village 140 kilometers southwest of Mandalay, shortly after 10 a.m., when a jet from Meiktila Air Base in Mandalay region dropped two 500-pound bombs on the wedding party. The bride and groom, both members of the Myaing township PDF—an armed group loyal to the exiled National Unity Government (NUG)—were celebrating with villagers in a monastery when the bombs struck. “It was a direct hit during refreshments,” a resident told Radio Free Asia (RFA), speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals. “The jet circled twice before bombing us.”
At least 10 people were killed by a junta airstrike on a resistance fighter’s wedding reception in Sone Kone village in Magwe Region’s Myaing Township on Tuesday morning. Regime attacks there have escalated in recent days.#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/zP0tOFN7vF
— Crystalkeyl (@crystalkeyl) February 25, 2025
The strike killed at least 10 people, with most victims identified as local villagers who had been cooking and serving food for the celebration. “They were just helping out—ordinary people, not fighters,” another resident said, also requesting anonymity. The fate of the newlyweds remains unclear, with PDF sources still searching for survivors among the rubble and the wounded. The monastery, a community hub, was reduced to debris, and a military helicopter was seen circling the area into the afternoon, preventing villagers from returning to identify the dead.
Approximately 1,000 residents of Son Kone and nearby Kyet Su Aint and Na That villages fled to forests and neighboring areas as the attack unfolded. “We’re still looking for the injured,” one resident told RFA, describing a scene of chaos and grief.
A Wave of Aerial Violence
The Son Kone bombing is the latest in a surge of junta airstrikes targeting civilian and rebel-held areas in early 2025. Just weeks earlier, on January 11, an airstrike in Kyauk Ni Maw village, Rakhine State, killed over 40 people, including women and children, and razed 500 homes, according to the United Nations. The Irrawaddy reported that January alone saw over 170 deaths from junta airstrikes nationwide, with Magway, Mandalay, and Sagaing regions emerging as hotspots. Earlier this month, 20,000 civilians fled Pwintbyu township, south of Myaing, amid heavy fighting, per RFA, while Burma News International noted junta paramotors dropping bombs in Magway since February 1.
The military’s growing reliance on air power reflects its struggles on the ground. Having lost significant territory to PDFs and ethnic armed groups like the Arakan Army (AA), the junta has intensified its aerial campaign. In 2024, RFA documented 1,769 deaths from airstrikes and artillery, a toll likely to rise in 2025 as attacks like Son Kone’s pile up. “They can’t win face-to-face, so they bomb us from above,” a Myaing PDF member said, noting the group’s lack of air defenses.
Reactions: Outrage and Justification
The NUG and PDFs condemned the attack as a war crime. “This was a deliberate massacre of civilians—a wedding, not a battlefield,” an NUG spokesperson said in a statement, calling for UN intervention and sanctions on aviation fuel suppliers. The Myaing PDF vowed retaliation, with one fighter declaring, “They’ll pay for this blood.” Local activists echoed the outrage, with the Blood Money Campaign urging global action to “starve the junta’s war machine.”
On the other side, pro-military Telegram channels confirmed the strike, framing it as a successful hit on a PDF gathering. “Terrorists were neutralized,” one post claimed, alleging the wedding was a cover for rebel activity. The junta itself has remained silent, with Magway spokesperson Myo Myint unreachable by RFA for comment—a typical response to such incidents. Analysts suggest the military views such strikes as a way to demoralize resistance strongholds like Magway, a Burman-majority region where PDFs have gained traction since the 2021 coup.
Survivors painted a harrowing picture. “The blast threw me back—I saw people screaming, covered in blood,” a villager recounted. Another, who lost family members, said, “We were just celebrating their love, and now they’re gone.” The PDF member who spoke to RFA described digging through the monastery’s wreckage: “It’s not just a building—it’s our heart they destroyed.”
The attack’s ripple effects are already evident. Displaced residents, hiding in forests, face hunger and exposure, joining over 3.5 million displaced nationwide, per UN estimates. “We can’t go back while that helicopter’s up there,” one fleeing villager said.
Broader Implications
The Son Kone bombing underscores the junta’s deepening desperation as it loses ground. Magway, once a quiet agricultural heartland, is now a frontline, with PDFs and junta forces locked in brutal tit-for-tat violence. The strike’s timing—days after reported airstrikes in Kale township displaced 5,000, per Burma News International—suggests a coordinated push to crush resistance in Sagaing and Magway before it spreads further.
For the resistance, the attack could galvanize support. “Every bomb they drop recruits more fighters,” a PDF strategist told Myanmar Now earlier this month, a sentiment likely amplified by Tuesday’s carnage. Yet, the lack of air defenses remains a crippling weakness, leaving civilians exposed. “We’re sitting ducks,” the Myaing PDF member admitted.
Internationally, the incident may intensify pressure on the junta’s backers, notably Russia and China, who supply its aircraft. The UN’s humanitarian coordinator, Marcoluigi Corsi, warned last month of a “grim” 2025, with 19.9 million Myanmar citizens—over a third of the population—needing aid. Tuesday’s strike could push donors to fund the UN’s $1.1 billion appeal, though only 34% of 2024’s $1 billion target was met.
A Nation at Breaking Point
As of February 26, 2025, Myanmar teeters on the edge. The Son Kone attack, following January’s bloodshed, signals no letup in the junta’s aerial campaign, even as its ground forces falter. For villagers like those in Magway, the sky offers no peace—only the roar of jets and the terror of bombs. “We just want to live,” one survivor pleaded. “Is that too much to ask?”
With the civil war’s fourth anniversary looming, the wedding party bombing is a stark reminder of its human cost—and a warning that, without decisive action, Myanmar’s nightmare may only darken.
