As Myanmar’s military junta pressed ahead with the first phase of its election on Sunday, airstrikes, artillery fire and explosions were reported across multiple parts of the country, underscoring the violent conditions under which the vote is taking place.
In Sagaing Region, residents said junta forces continued air and artillery attacks even as polling stations opened, while separate attacks linked to resistance groups were reported in Mandalay and Myawaddy in the hours before and during election day.
In Monywa Township, home to the Northwestern Regional Military Command, residents reported airstrikes and heavy artillery fire targeting neighbouring Budalin Township from early Sunday morning.
According to local residents, attacks began at around 7am and involved a Y-12 aircraft and engine-powered paragliders, known as paramotors. Artillery was also fired toward Budalin from inside the regional military command compound.
“Both the paramotors and the Y-12 are dropping bombs,” said a Budalin resident. “Two paramotors dropped bombs four times, and the Y-12 carried out seven strikes.”
Another resident said the repeated attacks forced people to seek shelter throughout the morning.
“The attacks kept coming, so we’ve been going in and out of bomb shelters,” he said.
There were no confirmed reports of casualties as of midday Sunday.
Monywa Township is included in the first phase of the junta’s election. However, neighbouring Budalin, Chaung-U and Ayadaw townships—where resistance forces hold significant influence and the military largely controls only urban wards—are scheduled to vote in the second phase on January 11.
Deadly strike in Khin-U
In nearby Khin-U Township, at least nine people were killed and more than 10 others injured on Saturday after two military aircraft bombed and strafed a row of roadside restaurants, according to local residents.
The attack targeted a stopping point commonly used by cargo trucks and fuel tankers. Additional airstrikes were also reported later the same day near the Thaphanseik Dam area along the Kanbalu–Kyunsu–Taze corridor.
In Mandalay, two people were injured after rockets were fired into the city just hours before polling stations opened, residents and officials said.
The attack occurred shortly after 1am on Sunday, when rockets exploded near 86th Street and 5th Street in Aungmyaythazan Township, northwest of the moat surrounding Mandalay Palace.
At least four rockets were fired, three of which landed on islets in the Ayeyarwady River, Mandalay Region Chief Minister Myo Aung told local media. He said the rockets were fired from the Sagaing side of the river.
An anti-junta resistance group, Brave Warriors for Myanmar, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it deliberately targeted river islets to avoid civilian casualties.
Following the attack, security was tightened across Mandalay, with roads blocked and armed soldiers deployed around polling stations in Aungmyaythazan and Chanayethazan townships, residents said.
Drone attack in Myawaddy
In Myawaddy Township in Karen State, bordering Thailand, a woman was killed and around 10 people were injured late Saturday after five drone bombs exploded across several locations.
The blasts occurred near the office of the military proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party, residential wards, a school compound, and close to the Thai–Myanmar Friendship Bridge No. 2, residents said.
About 10 buildings were damaged, and most of the injured were taken to public hospital in Myawaddy, with three remaining hospitalised as of Sunday.
Despite the overnight attack, voting reportedly went ahead in parts of Myawaddy. A local resident said those whose names were already on voter lists were required to vote and had received advance instructions on which polling stations to use.
“There were rumours that those who failed to go could be forcibly taken,” the resident said.
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