Four civilians killed, two injured in Myanmar junta airstrike south of Mandalay

The junta air force attacked a village in Kyaukpadaung, Mandalay Region on Sunday evening, killing four civilians despite the absence of recent fighting in the area, resistance sources said. Warplanes dropped six bombs on Myin Chan Kone village, about 20 miles northeast of Mount Popa, according to the commander of Battalion 2 of the Myingyan District People’s Defence Force (PDF). Mount Popa is located some 90 miles south of Mandalay. “The defence fighters aren’t operating in that area, it’s not part of our mission zone,” the resistance battalion commander said. “We only conduct operations near where the junta troops are present.” The bombs struck the home of a family living in Myin Chan Kone, killing four and injuring two others, according to sources in the resistance and the locally based local Kyaukpadaung Youth Network. Myanmar Now is still verifying the names and other details about the victims. The military council has yet to release a statement regarding the airstrike. The airstrike follows resistance attacks that took place on Saturday targeting junta police in Kyaukpadaung Township. The township shares a border with Myingyan District, the site of intense fighting between the resistance and junta forces in recent weeks. According to the Myingyan PDF battalion commander, the resistance fighters’ attack on a police vehicle near Let Pan Pyar village on the Meiktila-Kyaukpadaung road resulted in the deaths of Aung Kyaw Tun, a captain; Yan Shin, a deputy inspector; and Cpl. Myat Thu of the Kyaukpadaung Myoma police station. Myanmar Now’s police sources confirmed the deaths of the officers, which were also reported via pro-junta propaganda Telegram channels. The attack—a joint operation in which the Kyaukpadaung Township People’s Defence Teams, the Myingyan District PDF’s Battalion 2, and other defence groups took part—was made possible by tips from agents inside the army. The resistance forces seized five firearms, a grenade, and some cash from the police vehicle. Fighting in Myingyan District—which is located southwest of Mandalay and made up of Myingyan, Natogyi, and Taungtha townships—escalated in July and August as the resistance raided the base camps of junta-trained militia units in various villages. Earlier this month, a coalition of resistance forces attacked junta outposts in Natogyi, forcing the junta’s ground troops to call in airstrikes to fend off the assault. Another alliance of resistance groups led by the Mandalay People’s Defence Forces has also captured the towns of Singu and Thabeikkyin north of Mandalay and intensified attacks on junta positions in the region’s Patheingyi and Madaya townships.

Four civilians killed, two injured in Myanmar junta airstrike south of Mandalay

Despite the lack of fighting in the area, the junta air force struck Mandalay Region’s Kyaukpadaung Township, killing four members of a family and injuring two more

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