Junta airstrike kills family of three in central Myanmar

A junta airstrike in Natogyi Township, central Mandalay Region, killed three members of a single family on Tuesday, including a young child.The junta launched an aerial attack on Manlae village, located about 15 miles west of Natogyi Town, despite there being no active ground fighting in the area, sources say. A palm farmer and his wife, along with their nine-year-old daughter were killed in the strike as they were eating lunch at home.An official from the Natogyi Township People's Defense Organization (PDO) who spoke to Myanmar Now on the condition of anonymity, said the area was devastated. "Two fighter jets dropped bombs and also fired rockets,” the officials said. “Three civilians were killed and houses caught fire. It was a family of three. The daughter was still young.”Myanmar Now is still attempting to confirm the names and ages of the deceased. The junta controls the centre of Natogyi Township, while local resistance forces hold rural areas. Unable to deploy ground troops, the military has relied on daily airstrikes using fighter jets and paramotors from Meiktila and Tada-U air bases, residents say.On Monday evening, the junta conducted an airstrike on a monastery in Shwe Moke Htaw Village, Natogyi Township, causing damage to buildings, yet no casualties. The attacks are part of a broader campaign of junta airstrikes across Mandalay Region where the regime continues to target civilians.On the evening of March 22, junta fighter jets and attack helicopters struck Let Wea Village, about three miles north of Manlae, in two raids that injured two people and destroyed several homes, according to a Natogyi People's Administration Organization official."Recently we've heard they've started using incendiary bombs,” the official said. “Whenever they drop bombs, fires break out. About 15 houses were burned in that incident. Seven houses were directly destroyed by bombs.”Junta threats have forced nearly all residents to flee Let Wea Village. Local resistance forces regularly attack junta targets in Taungtha, Natogyi, and Myingyan townships along the east bank of the Ayeyarwady River, with operations extending to the Yangon-Mandalay Highway.

Junta airstrike kills family of three in central Myanmar

The victims, including a nine-year-old girl, were killed as they ate lunch at home

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