Dozens killed as junta escalates air raids in Karenni State’s Hpasawng Township

The Myanmar military has unleashed near-daily airstrikes across Hpasawng Township, Karenni State, since late June, killing at least 52 civilians in less than two months and turning the area into one of the deadliest frontlines of the war. What began with the bombing of a mining site in late June has escalated into a relentless campaign of air raids on schools, homes, and entire neighborhoods, as resistance forces push to seize the junta’s last remaining base in the township. In the most recent attack, at least one man was killed and six others wounded on Wednesday when junta warplanes bombed villages in Hpasawng local sources said. Wednesday’s airstrike is the latest in a wave of junta bombings that have slammed Hpasawng Township. “A Y-12 aircraft dropped five bombs on Lo Khar Lo village this morning at 6:30am,” Banya Khun Aung, a spokesperson of the Karenni Interim Executive Council, told Myanmar Now. “A man, 25, was killed while a 35-year-old man and an 18-year-old girl sustained injuries.” On Tuesday morning, a junta warplane carried out aerial assaults on Kyaung Kyar Ward and Lo Khar Lo village, injuring four men, two of whom are still in critical condition, according to the Karenni administrative body. Two days earlier, on August 17, a junta airstrike killed at least 32 people when a fighter jet dropped two 500-pound bombs on a crowded neighborhood in Mawchi. The residential area was home to migrant workers and other residents. “The death toll has climbed to 32 as more bodies were found and some of the injured have died,” Banya Khun Aung said of the recent Mawchi attack. “About 10 homes were destroyed, so some of the victims may be from the same families.”“The purpose is to instill fear. Fear is their slogan—they will rule through fear. They want people to feel helpless, unable to think, and crushed by constant strikes,” he added. “In Karenni State, in places like Mawchi, and even into Shan State, they shell and bomb villages deliberately.” Mawchi, a mineral-rich area known for its tin and tungsten mines located in Hpasawng Township, has been under the control of resistance forces since the military coup in 2021. Since late June, Karenni resistance forces have mounted assaults on two junta bases in and around Hpasawng, capturing Infantry Battalion (IB) 134 on June 30. During the clashes, a military fighter jet went down in the area. Clashes are still raging in Hpasawng as resistance forces are attempting to seize the last remaining junta outpost in the town: Infantry Battalion (IB)135.In response, the Myanmar military has intensified air raids in both Hpasawng and Mawchi, about 10 miles from the frontline, despite a heavy presence of unarmed civilians in these areas.The casualties have continued to mount. On August 14, junta airstrikes killed a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old resistance fighter in Hpasawng, the local People’s Defense Force said. “Junta Y-12 aircraft struck less than five minutes apart, dropping bomb after bomb,” a source close to the Karenni resistance told Myanmar Now. “The airstrikes happen almost every day.”On June 26, a junta warplane bombed a civilian-run mining site in Mawchi, killing at least eight workers. In the following weeks, airstrikes intensified. On July 9, five people including two children were killed in Loe Law Htee village; on July 14, six more died when a residential area was hit; and on August 8, three teenage students were injured when a riverside middle school was bombed during exams.The near-daily bombings have turned the town of Hpasawng and Mawchi into some of the deadliest frontlines of Myanmar’s war, where civilians are forced to live under the constant threat of airstrikes and a rising death toll.Banya Khun Aung shared that the attacks are not just about military success, but about breaking morale, forcing people to depend on the junta through brutal force. “They are trying to convince civilians they must rely on them, but it’s a very dangerous approach,” Banya said. “That’s why they continue bombing. Even this morning they bombed twice—once in Mawchi and again in Demoso.” Junta warplanes carried out two separate aerial assaults on Mawchi, a tin-mining area in Karenni State’s Hpasawng Township on August 17, killing at least 25 people, including five children. (Photo: Supplied).

Dozens killed as junta escalates air raids in Karenni State’s Hpasawng Township

The Myanmar military has launched near-daily airstrikes in Hpasawng Township, killing 52 people in less than two months as resistance forces push towards a last remaining junta base

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