Five civilians killed by aerial, drone strikes in Kachin State

Civilians living in two northern areas of Kachin State said junta air and drone strikes killed a child and four other civilians over the course of a single day on Monday. The military regime’s warplanes bombed the village of Lan Se in Tsawlaw Township, less than 12 miles west of Myanmar’s border with China, at around 2pm, according to Colonel Naw Bu, a spokesperson for the anti-junta armed group Kachin Independence Army (KIA). “They bombed the Lan Se area yesterday evening, killing three civilians, including a child,” Col. Naw Bu said on Tuesday, citing firsthand accounts. “No other casualties were reported. Several buildings were hit and destroyed.” The KIA spokesperson added that the names, ages, and other identifying details about the deceased were still being investigated. Col. Naw Bu also confirmed there had been no further airstrikes in the area the following day, although clashes were ongoing. Lan Se is a few miles south of an area called Lar Hee Sin, where clashes are ongoing among the KIA, the Myanmar military, and pro-junta “people’s militias” armed and trained by the military. The military and allied militias have been advancing into the area to retake territory previously lost to the KIA. The military-sponsored militias of Kawnglanghpu Township controlled Lan Se before the KIA and its allies captured the village in December 2024. Lan Se, previously jointly held by the Kawnglanghpu People’s Militias and junta forces, was captured by the KIA and its allied forces in December 2024. On the same day as the Lan Se airstrikes, a junta drone killed a father and son in Hpakant Township. At around 5pm, the drone bombed a house in the village of Kyauk Thway Taung west of Hpakant Township’s urban centre, killing a man in his early 50s named Kyaw Soe and his son, a resident of Hpakant Township said. “There haven’t been any major clashes nearby, just a little gunfire at a time of escalated tension. The drone strike was intentional and killed both of them instantly,” the Hpakant Township resident said. Other civilians also said hostilities had escalated on the west side of the township and that they saw drones flying overhead nearly every day. The junta forces also conducted drone strikes on September 19 in the village of Htone Bo, Hpakant Township, killing a man and woman despite the lack of fighting in the area. The inhabitants of most villages on the west side of Hpakant Township have now fled to the Kachin State capital, Myitkyina, and other towns such as Mogaung and Mohnyin. The KIA and its allies are currently clashing with junta forces and junta-sponsored militias in several parts of Kachin State, including Waingmaw and Bhamo in addition to Hpakant and Lan Se, as the military fights to regain control over territories lost to the KIA since last year. After launching a major coordinated offensive against the military in March 2024, the KIA and its allies were able to seize control of 15 towns and hundreds of junta outposts, which the military regime has only begun to recapture in recent months.

Five civilians killed by aerial, drone strikes in Kachin State

The deaths from the attacks, which hit the jade-mining hub of Hpakant and a village in Tsawlaw Township some 12 miles west of the Chinese border, included a child

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