Junta airstrikes kill at least eight, including two children, in northern Shan State

Junta airstrikes in northern Shan State have killed at least eight people, including two children during the first week of October, according to local resident sources.The attacks have struck almost daily, hitting Hsipaw, Namtu, and Namhsan townships, sources say. Between October 2 and October 7, airstrikes claimed the lives of two men in Hsipaw, four in Namtu, and two children in Namhsan.The Myanmar military also carried out three airstrikes on the densely populated wards of Namtu Town, known for its metal mining operations. On Tuesday morning, the junta also targeted Pobbayone Monastery, where displaced people have frequently sought shelter.“At around 6:30 am on October 7, Pobbayone Monastery was bombed,” a Namtu resident told Myanmar Now. “Monks and novices had already evacuated after a previous airstrike, so no one was injured. And fortunately the displaced people were not at the monastery at the time of the bombing.”On the morning of October 2, a junta airstrike in Namtu Town killed four people—three women in their 40s and a man in his 50s—and left six others injured. Later, on October 6, an airstrike struck the fire station in Namtu Town, destroying six residential homes.On October 4, the junta launched three airstrikes in a single day, hitting the location of Infantry Battalion 23, Basic Education High School No. 2, a monastery in Kyaung Su village, and the villages of Man He and Kyin Thi in Hsipaw Town. During the attack, two men in their early middle age were killed and three others were wounded in Kyin Thi village, Hsipaw residents reported. “Bombs were dropped in the morning, afternoon, and evening on the same day. In Kyin Thi Village, one person was killed immediately and another died en route to Lashio. Several homes in the village were destroyed,” a Hsipaw resident said.It has been over a year since the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) seized Namtu Town in December, 2023. The liberation of the town occurred under Operation 1027, when the Brotherhood Alliance, a coalition of ethnic armed organisations, made unprecedented gains across northern Shan State. Approximately 15,000 people lived in Namtu’s two urban wards, and the recent junta airstrikes have pushed over half of the population to seek safety elsewhere. “People stopped living there because airstrikes were happening daily,” a local man from Namtu said. “At least 30–40 vehicles left for Lashio yesterday [October 6], and even more departed this morning [October 7]. Only a handful remained to care for their homes.” On Monday morning, junta forces moved toward Hsipaw Town, bombing the town’s microwave communication station, a facility housing equipment and antennas to transmit and receive high-frequency microwave signals. The attack killed one-year-old Khant Nyar Htun, 23-year-old Thawna, and 26-year-old Patu, the TNLA released in a press statement.Hsipaw comprises 11 wards and is home to over 20,000 people. Over the last month, large numbers of its residents have been displaced due to the continuous airstrikes.“Hsipaw was targeted by airstrikes as attacks on Nawng Pein village began,” a Hsipaw resident told Myanmar Now. “Since then, residents have been fleeing to Lashio, and the situation has worsened following the capture of Kyaukme.”The attacks continued across the town of Namhsan as well. Many civilians were wounded in airstrikes that struck Hsipaw Town, Shan State on October 6, 2025. (Photo: TNLA) Another two children were killed and nine others wounded, six of them children, in Namhsan Town. The TNLA said the junta has been attacking civilians despite there being no active fighting reported in the area.Kyaukme Township, a district in the region, comprises the towns of Kyaukme, Hsipaw, Namtu, Nawnghkio, Monglon, and Mongngawt. In mid July, the junta seized Nawnghkio.“Since Taung Hkam, their strategy has been to soften a town with airstrikes and artillery before moving in with ground forces. We need to watch closely to see if Namtu and Mogok will be attacked after Hsipaw,” said Captain Zin Yaw, a captain with a resistance force in Kuaykme Township.With Kyaukme and Hsipaw towns listed as sites for the junta’s election, political observers suggest that the junta, after taking Kyaukme, might advance toward Hsipaw. Pro-junta supporters are already claiming that the military is currently advancing toward the town, located about 20 miles from the town of Kyaukme. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), also known as the Kokang Army, holds control over the Hsipaw–Lashio Road and oversees parts of the Namlan and Hsipaw roads within Hsipaw Township. Political observers say that fighting between the junta and the MNDAA could occur if the junta takes control of Hsipaw Town. When Kyaukme was under TNLA control, the junta routinely targeted the town’s urban areas, police stations, and hospitals with airstrikes to hinder the TNLA’s administrative functions. After the junta recaptured Kyaukme, they reopened the Nawnghkio–Kyaukme Road, which has been blocked for more than a year. The junta is now working to restore a major trade route connecting Muse to Mandalay in central Myanmar. Pobbayone Monastery, located in Namtu Town, Shan State, was bombed by the Myanmar military the morning of October 7, 2025. (Photo: TNLA)

Junta airstrikes kill at least eight, including two children, in northern Shan State

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