Junta airstrikes kill over 40 civilians across Myanmar in two days, despite ceasefire

Airstrikes by Myanmar’s military junta killed more than 40 people and wounded over 60, including children and pregnant women, during a two-day bombing campaign across four states and regions from April 19 to 20, a Myanmar Now investigation revealed. Although the junta declared a ceasefire following the powerful March 28 earthquake, its airstrikes have only intensified—driving up the death toll nationwide.In Sagaing Region alone, local activists and People’s Defense Forces (PDF) who spoke to Myanmar Now said at least 13 have died in airstrikes in the last two days. In Mandalay, another 24 were killed in various villages across the region. In Thanintharyi Region, two were killed, while another three civilians died in bombings in Mon State.‘Cruel until their last breath’It was around noon on April 19, when a junta helicopter started to fly over Kantaw Village. Within moments, it began unleashing a violent payload of bombs on civilian targets below. Residents of the village, located about seven miles west of Myinmu Town, Sagaing Region, ran for their lives.According to Captain Aye Chan from the People's Knight Defence Force, which operates under Myinmu People’s Defense Organization (PDO), the aerial assault killed three-year-old Su Myat, 17-year-old May Zune Oo, 65-year-old Tin Maung, and two male resistance fighters. The attack injured another 15 people.“Out of the 15 injured, four are in critical condition,” Captain Aye Chan told Myanmar Now. “Even though there was a ceasefire, fighting still happened in April, including attacks and village burnings during the Thingyan festival.” Captain Aye Chan added that the recent attack violated a junta ceasefire, noting that ground operations and airstrikes continue in Myinmu Township despite the call for a temporary pause on fighting. Residents and resistance forces are on edge as airstrikes could occur at any time, he explained. On April 20, junta forces raided a PDF checkpoint in Myinmu Township, sparking a clash that left one resistance fighter dead. That same evening, a junta airstrike hit a school in Kunseik Village, Shwebo Township, killing two people and injuring nine, according to the resistance forces in the area. One of the two women killed was eight months pregnant. Although doctors tried to save the baby through a cesarean section, the child died minutes after the procedure. “The junta will do anything ruthless and cruel to maintain their power,” an information officer from Myinmu People Defense Organization said. “They'll remain cruel until their last breath.” Around the same time, a military helicopter bombed Thintaw Village in Sagaing Region’s Kanbalu Township, killing six civilians and damaging homes, according to an April 21 statement from the Kyunhla Activists Group. The extent of injuries and property damage remains unknown, a representative from the Myinmu People Defense Organization told Myanmar Now, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals. "Throughout April, they've been striking around Wuntho and Kawlin areas as well as Mandalay Region’s Thabeikkyin area.”Thintaw sits near the junta’s Koetaungbo base, where most residents typically stay away due to security risks. But some had recently returned to trade in the local market. That’s when the airstrike hit a large general store. On Monday morning, junta troops entered Nyaungyin Village, east of the town, where they proceeded to destroy a home and assault residents, according to an official from Myinmu Township’s Information Department.“As far as we know, there have been no ground battles,” the official said. “But they're deliberately targeting civilians and airstriking villages.” At least nine people were injured in Kunseik Village, Shwebo Township, when a junta warplane bombed the area. ‘The bodies were horribly disfigured’ Over the same period of days,junta warplanes bombed multiple locations across Mandalay Region.On April 19, junta airstrikes targeted the village of Yaehtwet in Mandalay Region’s Thabeikkyin Township, killing 24 civilians, including children, while injuring another 30 people, and destroying 25 homes, local residents told Myanmar Now. "They dropped bombs in the middle of the village during a busy time,” a resident of the village said. “The children's bodies were horribly disfigured.”At least 24 deaths, including children, have been confirmed so far, but there may be more casualties as time goes on. The junta is aggressively attacking areas held by resistance forces, according to a Pyin Oo Lwin District PDO information officer. "They primarily want these areas back,” he said, “So like throwing sand at meat that they can't eat, they're vindictively and brutally killing civilians.” He warned that civilians urgently need to dig bomb shelters as the junta continues targeted attacks.Kyitaukpauk, a small village in Singu Township, Mandalay, also faced an airstrike on April 20. Explosions tore through an area near a school, injuring six people. In Myanmar’s southeastern Karen State (Kayin), repeated bombings have continued. On April 19, a junta helicopter attacked a monastery in Minsaw Village, Bilin Township, according to a statement from the Karen National Union (KNU). The airstrike killed Ashin Kaylartha, a 10-year-old novice monk. The strike also killed Naw Hla Myint, 65, and Naw Ma Wae, 60. Nine other civilians were also injured in the assault. Further south that same morning, the junta launched strikes on Yaenge Village, Thanintharyi Region, killing a young child and an elderly man, local sources reported."There wasn't a major battle. The police at Winwa police station got scared and called for the junta's backup,” one local source told Myanmar Now. “That's when they started bombing our villages.” Fearing military aggression, residents of Yaenge, which has over 1,600 households, often relocate to stay with nearby relatives and friends when faced with renewed junta attacks. Residents have described repeated incidents where soldiers have broken into empty houses, taking possessions and ransacking their homes. Among the junta’s deadliest airstrikes to take place since the coup was the bombing of Pazigyi Village in Sagaing Region's Kanbalu Township on April 11, 2023. The strike killed 168 civilians, including children, in a mass casualty event. Junta spokesman Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun tried to justify the attacks to Al Jazeera in an interview on March 28, the very same day of the earthquake."The fact that many children were involved is because those people were part of a group collaborating with terrorist organisations,” Gen. Zaw Min Tun said. “Yes, there were attacks. Collateral damage cannot be avoided. That's the nature of war, there will be side effects." Airstrikes have steadily increased since the coup, killing 2,224 civilians and injuring 3,466 over four years, according to Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica, a group that monitors junta attacks."There may be more airstrikes and military attacks at any time,” Captain Aye Chan said. “That’s why we always need to watch out for military and air threats. More airstrikes could happen again.”

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