Airstrikes kill dozens as Myanmar junta continues to target civilians in conflict zones

Airstrikes by Myanmar’s military killed at least 37 people on Wednesday, despite a ceasefire declared in the wake of a deadly earthquake that struck the country nearly two weeks ago. The most recent incident was reported in northern Chin State’s Tedim Township, where six members of a single family were killed in the village of Saizang shortly before midnight, according to a local resident. “They dropped a 500-pound bomb on the village by air. Six people from the same family were killed instantly when the bomb hit their house directly. Two bodies couldn’t even be recovered. Another person was severely injured,” the local told Myanmar Now. Saizang is a large village of nearly a thousand households, located about seven miles from the town of Tedim and more than 70 miles north of Falam, a town that was captured by the anti-regime Chin Brotherhood earlier this week. Last week, clashes between Chin resistance forces and the junta-aligned Zomi Revolutionary Army left four Chinland Defence Force (CDF) members and one Chin National Army fighter dead in Tanzang Township, north of Tedim. Six villagers were also killed in southern Chin State’s Mindat Township on Wednesday after a junta warplane dropped bombs on several locations between 8:45 and 9pm, according to local sources. The victims were all residents of Hpwi, a village located about nine miles west of the town of Mindat, and included two children—one eight months old and the other seven years old—and one woman. One of the three men who were killed was a pastor at a church that was damaged in the attack, while another was disabled, locals told Myanmar Now. Salai Htan Chun Pei, commander of the CDF Mindat, attributed the junta’s latest aerial assaults to the weakness of its ground forces in Chin State and its loss of Falam on Monday. “The terrorist military regime tends to target civilians when they can no longer confront resistance forces,” he said. Aftermath from the airstrike that hit the village of Nankhan in Sagaing Region’s Wuntho Township on April 9, killing at least 25 people and injuring 24 (Photo: Supplied) The deadliest attacks on Wednesday took place hundreds of miles away in Sagaing Region’s Wuntho Township, where a series of airstrikes on the village of Nankhan left at least 25 people dead and another 24 injured, according to a local National Unity Government (NUG) administrator. The airstrikes, which were launched shortly before 3pm and again around three hours later, targeted the village’s busy market and residential neighbourhoods, the NUG official told Myanmar Now. “If you ask where they mainly attacked, they primarily targeted residential areas,” he said following a visit to the site of the attacks. “There are body parts scattered all over the place. Two 15-foot rail tracks were also thrown about 150 feet from the railroad,” he added, noting that a disused local hospital was also hit. “It’s a hospital in name only. It’s not functioning for treatment anymore. It’s been transformed into a small clinic, like a rural health facility. So there are no hospital staff there at all,” he said. Of the 24 people who were injured, 13 are in critical condition, he added. Nankhan is located about 18 miles northeast of the town of Wuntho, which is about 35 miles from Indaw, a town on the border with neighbouring Kachin State that the regime was forced to abandon on Monday after eight months of fighting. According to Nay Phone Latt, spokesperson for the NUG’s prime minister’s office, the attack on Nankhan was just another instance of the junta targeting civilians in retaliation for a military defeat. “They have targeted civilians before. They’ve done it many times, killing children and other civilians. This was an attack directly targeting civilians,” he said. The NUG has announced a temporary ceasefire until April 13 to allow for relief operations following the powerful earthquake that struck near Mandalay on March 28. The junta has also announced a 20-day ceasefire from April 2 to April 22. However, both sides have accused each other of violating ceasefire commitments, and fighting continues on the ground. According to data released by the NUG on Thursday, junta airstrikes since the earthquake have killed 65 people and injured 60, while artillery attacks have killed seven and injured 31.

Airstrikes kill dozens as Myanmar junta continues to target civilians in conflict zones

At least 37 people were confirmed dead on Wednesday as the regime carried out multiple assaults north and west of Mandalay

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