Junta continues airstrikes after ceasefire, killing dozens in quake-hit Myanmar

Despite the junta’s announcement of a temporary ceasefire after a massive earthquake that struck the country last month, military airstrikes on civilian areas have continued, killing and injuring dozens in at least three mass casualty attacks over the past month.After the Sagaing earthquake killed nearly 4,000 people, the junta declared a ceasefire to allow aid deliveries. But resistance forces say airstrikes have continued in hard-hit areas, including Singu, Thabeikkyin, and across Sagaing, Magway, Mandalay, and several other states. Junta airstrikes on April 27 struck villages in southern Kalay Township, Sagaing Region, killing four civilians, according to the Chin National Army (CNA). Earlier that morning, two military columns launched an offensive to retake Kyantha camp along the Kalay-Gangaw road, but resistance forces repelled the attack, inflicting casualties and seizing weapons. Following these losses, the junta attacked Natchaung, Natmyaung, Aungchanthar, Thanpho and Ngarpha villages using aircraft and drones. The attacks killed at least four civilians, according to Salai Htet Ni, a CNA spokesperson On April 26, the junta carried out two airstrikes on Tigyaing Township in upper Sagaing Region, killing three civilians, including elderly residents, despite no active ground clashes, sources say. The first strike hit a clinic in Laythar village in the morning, followed by a second attack near a school in Konebaung village that evening. A woman is photographed approaching a deceased loved one after the junta bombed Yaehtwet village, Thabeikkyin Township. (Photo: Supplied) "A 70-year-old man was hit in the abdomen by shrapnel,” a member of the Township People's Administration Organization (PAO) told Myanmar Now. “He was a patient receiving treatment at the clinic due to poor health. When the aircraft came, he tried to run, but couldn't escape. He died in the evening while receiving treatment for his injuries.” The school buildings in Konebuang were destroyed, and a 66-year-old woman and a 10-year-old child living in a home near the school compound were also killed.In Tigyaing, a key hub along the Ayeyarwady River transport route, the junta holds only the town centre with hundreds of troops, while resistance forces control most of the surrounding villages. Following the People's Defense Forces' (PDF) final capture of Indaw Town on the border of Kachin State and Sagaing Region earlier this month after an eight-month offensive, the junta has continued targeting civilian areas nearby. Resistance sources say the military has launched strikes near Wuntho, Tigyaing, and Kawlin townships. "As their territory decreases, they are increasingly targeting civilians," a Tigyaing PAO member said. Just days after Indaw was seized by resistance forces, the junta launched airstrikes on Namkham village in Wuntho Township— decimating both a market area and a hospital. The attack left 26 people dead including children, women, and elderly, and injured 22 others. Despite the junta declaring a temporary ceasefire citing humanitarian assistance for earthquake victims, they have intensified airstrikes resulting in mass civilian casualties. (Photo: Supplied) ‘The public is suffering’On April 18, junta aircraft dropped two bombs on a crowded market in Thabeikkyin Township, killing 12 civilians, including children, according to a local resident. The airstrike was followed by machine-gun strafing. The following day, on April 19, two more bombs were dropped on the village of Yaehtwet, Thabeikkyin, killing 32 people and injuring 24, according to the National Unity Government (NUG). "The military's ceasefire declaration is just for show,” an official from the Pyin Oo Lwin District People's Defense Organization (PDO) told Myanmar Now. “Neither resistance fighters nor the public believe it. It's mainly to show the international community that they are providing earthquake assistance. But in reality, that's not true. The public is suffering.” Later on April 27, the junta bombed Singu High School and Maha Weiyanbontha Monastery, which are in an area controlled by resistance forces. Some buildings were damaged in the attack, but no casualties were reported. The junta destroyed a house in southern Kalay Township, Sagaing Region on April 27, 2025. (Photo: Supplied) The junta, weakened by a sharp decline in ground combat capabilities in recent years, has ramped up military pressure and intensified airstrikes across the country since the earthquake, according to former Major Zin Yaw, a defector who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement. "They [the junta] plan to recapture lost towns while preventing resistance forces from expanding their territory,” he said. “For them, they don't need to conduct earthquake rescue operations. And with the ceasefire with the Kokang, the situation has become more favorable for them.” Since the April 2 ceasefire declaration, the junta has launched dozens of post-earthquake airstrikes across central Myanmar and into Rakhine, Karen, and Chin states. In Rakhine, where the military has lost control of over two-thirds of the territory, junta forces carried out 409 attacks using air, naval, and artillery strikes, killing one civilian and injuring 28, according to the Arakan Army’s humanitarian office. In Karen State and other KNU-controlled areas, attacks during the same period killed 20 civilians and wounded 57, the KNU reported. On April 9, airstrikes in Chin State’s southwestern mountains killed 12 civilians—including six children—in a single night. Despite heavy resistance to hold Falam town, the junta lost control, then launched successive strikes on Tedim and Mindat townships the following day. The NUG has also announced a temporary suspension of offensive operations in earthquake-affected areas to facilitate relief and rescue operations. Yet despite resistance forces announcing ceasefires, the junta has accused them of attacking their camps. A military bombing left a series of buildings decimated after junta aerial attacks targeted Tigyaing Township, Sagaing Region on April 26, 2025. (Photo: Supplied)

Junta continues airstrikes after ceasefire, killing dozens in quake-hit Myanmar

Villages reel from deadly attacks as junta ignores ceasefire and targets civilians

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