16 civilians killed as Myanmar junta fleet makes its way down the Ayeyarwady

Junta forces accompanying a flotilla of naval vessels along the Ayeyarwady River have killed at least 16 civilians in two Sagaing Region townships since late last week, according to sources. The 12 vessels set off from the town of Bhamo in Kachin State last Friday (August 5) and by noon on Wednesday had reportedly reached Madaya Township in Mandalay Region, the sources said. Over the weekend, the flotilla passed through Sagaing’s Tigyaing Township, where at least 12 people were killed by airstrikes and artillery fire in four villages, according to the anti-regime Tigyaing Township People’s Administration Organisation (PAO). The first two fatalities were reported on Saturday near the village of Kyaukhmaw, where shelling by junta troops based in the town of Tigyaing also injured at least four others. The next day, five more people were killed in Maungkone, three in Bokone, and two in Weagyi, while a total of about 30 were injured in all three villages, the Tigyaing Township PAO said. On Tuesday, more casualties were reported in Wetlet Township, where airstrikes on six villages left four people, including a child, dead and 13 others injured, according to a local resident. “There were two airstrikes. They hit villages on the western side of the river. As of last night, there were four dead and 13 injured. There may be more,” the local, who identified himself as Nagar Lay, said on Wednesday. The targeted villages included Indaung, Tamakan, Minkonlay, Nabepinhla, Yonepinkone, and Tatywa, all located in southeastern Wetlet Township along the western bank of the Ayeyarwady River. Bombs were also dropped on a school in Thitseint, a village in the eastern part of the township, on Wednesday, according to the Wetlet Informational Network. Three junta columns have been advancing in Wetlet Township since July, according to a local volunteer working with displaced villagers. One column of around 300 troops has been active east of the town of Wetlet; another of around the same size is based west of the town, along the bank of the Mu River; and the third, with a strength of around 200 troops, has been spotted on the road to Shwebo to the north, the volunteer told Myanmar Now. The presence of these three columns has displaced tens of thousands of people from more than 40 villages in the township, he added. As the flotilla continues to make its way downriver to Mandalay, resistance forces have urged locals in riverside villages to evacuate. Around two dozen military vessels left Mandalay in mid-July to carry supplies and reinforcements to Bhamo, a key town in southern Kachin State that the Kachin Independence Army and its allies have been trying to capture since late last year. Resistance ambushes destroyed several vessels along the way, forcing part of the flotilla to retreat. The regime has relied heavily on airstrikes to provide cover for the advancing vessels, resulting in heavy civilian casualties. The regime has deployed fighter jets, Mi-35 combat helicopters, and Y-12 transport aircraft to carry out indiscriminate attacks on villages located along the banks of the Ayeyarwady.

16 civilians killed as Myanmar junta fleet makes its way down the Ayeyarwady

The casualties were caused by airstrikes and shelling used to provide cover for a flotilla returning to Mandalay from Bhamo in southern Kachin State

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