Myanmar Junta Kills 50 Civilians in 3-Day Countrywide Air Raids

The exiled civilian government vowed to ‘punish’ the military regime for its violent crimes against the public.

By RFA Burmese

A three-day onslaught of junta-launched airstrikes across four major areas spanning much of Myanmar’s central plains killed 50 people and injured nearly 80, sources told Radio Free Asia.

Myanmar’s junta, which seized power in 2021, faces resistance from dozens of militias seeking autonomy. In response to insurgent attacks, the military has bombed villages suspected of sheltering rebels, often killing dozens of civilians.

In the latest assaults, the junta killed 20 people in Singu township’s Kyi Tauk Pauk village and Thabeikkyin township’s Leik Kya and Yae Htwet villages in Manadalay region between Friday and Sunday.

“A 500-pound bomb fell. Four men and two women were injured, only those who were middle-aged,” said a Kyi Tauk Pauk resident, declining to be named for security reasons, adding that three dormitories at the local school were destroyed when a junta plane attacked around 2 p.m. on Friday.

The airstrike on Leik Kya village killed 12 civilians, including one child, three women and eight men, and injured three others, said a member of a local Pyinoolwin militia under the arm of the exiled civilian National Unity Government, or NUG.

The plane came from Meiktila Air Base, on the border of Shan state and Mandalay region, dropping one 300-pound bomb and opening fire on the village, said a member of the militia, declining to be named for security reasons.

Similarly, Saturday afternoon’s attacks on Yae Htwet left 24 people dead and nearly 20 injured when two bombs struck the village, residents said, adding that the death toll is likely to rise as many people are critically injured.

Several young children were also killed in the attack, said one resident, declining to be named for security reasons.

‘Ceasefire’

The NUG announced on Monday it would take all actions necessary to punish military for its violent crimes against the public. Despite ceasefires declared by both the junta and NUG following the country’s March 28 earthquake that left thousands dead, struggles for territory, ending in junta bombings, have continued.

Other attacks also targeted villages across Rakhine state and Sagaing region. Both are considered to be hotbeds of insurgent activity under both NUG-led militias and the Arakan Army, which has captured 14 of Rakhine’s 17 townships in its fight for self-determination.

Junta airstrikes on a residential ward of Rakhine’s Kyauktaw town, which remains under military control, on Saturday afternoon. killed two civilians and injured 20 others, including three children, residents said.

A junta plane attacked a monastery in Mon state’s Bilin township on Saturday morning during a religious ceremony. The airstrike killed 10-year-old monk Kaylatha, 60-year-old Ma Wai and 69-year-old Hla Myint, the rebel administration Karen National Union, which controls parts of Kayin and Mon states, announced on Sunday. Nine more civilians were injured.

In Sagaing region, two bombs dropped on a store in Thin Taw village on Sunday evening killed six family members, said one resident, who requested to remain unnamed for fear of reprisals.

“One bomb hit the store exactly and killed the whole family,” he said. “They were all just civilians, three men, three women, all dead.”

He listed the family members as 20-year-old Mi Thay; 30-year-old Min Min; Khin Ma, who was around 50 years old; and also Kyaw Min Kyi; Phone Maw; and a woman known as ‘Mrs. Saw,’ all identified without ages.

Two other men were injured in the attack, residents said.

In Myinmu township, junta forces bombed a camp for internally displaced people on Saturday morning, killing three civilians and injuring eight others, residents said, identifying them as displaced people including three-year-old Su Myat, 17-year-old May Zun Oo and 69-year-old Tin Maung.

Four others were injured including a five-year-old child, they said.

Junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun has not responded to RFA’s inquiries.

Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.