At least nine killed in airstrike targeting wedding of Myanmar resistance fighter

A junta airstrike killed at least nine people attending the wedding of an anti-regime fighter in Magway Region’s Myaing Township on Tuesday, according to local residents and resistance sources. The attack began at around 9:40am as the ceremony was being held at a monastery in Sonkone, a village located near an oilfield controlled by groups opposed to the junta, the sources said.“First they dropped a 500-pound bomb. Then they opened fire with machine guns along the road and randomly throughout the oilfield. The bomb likely caused many deaths,” said Cross, a member of the Myaing Township People’s Defence Organisation.“The bomb made a direct hit on the area where food was being served,” he added, noting that several other structures were also destroyed.Photos seen by Myanmar Now show extensive damage to the reception pavilion, a hut that was burned to the ground, and at least five bodies. The final death toll was not available at the time of reporting.A local oil merchant, citing a witness, said at least nine people were killed in the attack, but added that the number of dead was expected to rise.“A boy who went to the wedding said there were nine confirmed deaths. He himself was lucky to get out alive,” the merchant said. The attack took place near the Kyaukkhwet oilfield, one of seven in Myaing Township. Located near the border with Pauk Township, the field has been controlled by resistance forces since mid-2023. The nearby Letpanto oilfield in Pauk was captured in April of last year.Despite being a small village of only around 150 households, Sonkone is normally busy due to its proximity to the oilfield. However, little activity was reported there following Tuesday’s attack.“Local people are frightened, all of them. People have closed their homes, fearing another attack,” said a resistance fighter based in the area.Last Thursday, Myanmar’s junta announced that it would crack down on the extraction of natural resources by armed groups opposed to its rule.In June of last year, dozens of people, including at least six children, were killed by an airstrike targeting the wedding of a resistance force member in Sagaing Region’s Mingin Township.The regime has stepped up its military activities in resistance-held areas of central Myanmar since the start of the year, amid a slowdown in fighting with the Brotherhood Alliance in northern Shan State.

At least nine killed in airstrike targeting wedding of Myanmar resistance fighter

The attack took place Tuesday morning near a resistance-held oilfield in Magway Region’s Myaing Township

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