Magway sees deadly airstrike and resistance ambush

A Myanmar military airstrike hit a village near a shuttered school in Magway Region’s Saw Township on Wednesday, killing four civilians, including an eight-year-old girl, and injuring two others.Local residents told Myanmar Now that they believe it was a targeted attack based on false junta claims. The bombs struck the village of Ah Nyar Ka Tin, around 10:30 am landing on both sides of a school compound, destroying two classrooms and nine homes.Victims included three women killed instantly and a young girl, who died enroute to a clinic. A teenager and another woman were injured. Residents denied junta claims that explosives were being made at the school, calling the strike part of a broader pattern of military attacks on civilian sites. No fighting had been reported in the area at the time of the fighting. The National Unity Government’s (NUG) Human Rights Ministry said the military carried out 225 airstrikes since March 28, killing 242 people and wounding 391.In another incident on Tuesday, anti-junta fighters ambushed a column of junta troops advancing into Yesagyo Township in Myanmar’s Magway Region on Tuesday, killing an unknown number of soldiers, local resistance forces told Myanmar Now. Around 150 junta troops were ambushed near the village of Htan Se Pin, about a mile southwest of junta-controlled Yesagyo Town, according to the Yesagyo Township People’s Defense Team, which operates under the National Unity Government (NUG). “We ambushed them on the outskirts of Yesagyo, in the vicinity of the town’s graveyard and Htan Se Pin Village,” a spokesperson from People’s Defense Team said. “At least three junta troops were killed and ten others were injured in the clash.” The ambush was coordinated by the township’s Defense Team and the No.9 Pakokku District Battalion, local sources say. Junta troops retreated to Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 258 base after suffering casualties on the same day. Junta troops launched artillery strikes from nearby bases during the battle on the outskirts of Yesagyo, while pro-junta Telegram channels claimed they captured the bodies of two resistance fighters. Resistance forces denied the claim, saying they had already retrieved their comrade’s body. “We were able to recover the body of our comrade,” a source said. “One of our comrades also sustained leg injuries by junta shelling.” Junta troops reportedly torched at least 11 homes in Htan Se Pin, but no civilian casualties were reported as villagers had already fled their homes in advance. At least 2,000 people from Htan Chaung and Htan Se Pin villages in Yesagyo Township were displaced by the clashes. Since February, junta troops have been advancing into resistance-held territories in Yesagyo Township where anti-regime forces maintain control over most rural areas, local sources said. In March, at least 11 civilians were killed in a series of raids conducted by junta troops in Yesagyo Township near Magway-Sagaing border.As junta forces continue advancing, the Yesagyo Township People’s Defense Team is forming an alliance with resistance groups in Pauk and Myaing townships to coordinate political efforts, joint operations.“There is much more to be done in terms of combat cooperation,” a representative of the People's Defense Team in Yesagyo Township told Myanmar Now. “We will focus on strengthening our military capacity and will continue to coordinate with other resistance groups, engaging in joint efforts and combat operations.” Remains of a home destroyed in an airstrike on Ah Nyar Ka Tin village, Saw Township, Magway Region. (Photo: Yaw Alin Tan)

Magway sees deadly airstrike and resistance ambush

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