Three civilians were killed and five were injured after the Myanmar army attacked two villages in Karenni State’s Demoso Township from the air on Wednesday evening.
A military jet bombed Dung Ka Mee and Si Li Dung, which are separated by a road, just after 6pm, according to a volunteer rescue worker. The villages are less than 10km from Nan Mei Khon town.
“Three civilians died on the spot. An older woman was left unconscious and is now in critical condition,” he told Myanmar Now.
The casualties included three men, two of whom were found dead inside a house in Dung Ka Mee, and one who had been travelling by motorcycle on the road near the house at the time of the blast.
“The motorcyclist came along the main road, which was exactly where the military bomb dropped and he got hit,” the rescue worker said.
Those injured included a 60-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man, and three individuals who have yet to be identified.
A house in each of the two villages was destroyed.
On Thursday there were reportedly three more airstrikes on the Nan Mei Khon area between 5:30am and 12:30pm, according to the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF).
Battles reignited between the junta’s forces and a Karenni resistance alliance in Moebye, southern Shan State, on February 16. The military has employed both heavy weapons and airstrikes during the clashes.
“The battles actually started in Moebye and it spread to Nan Mei Khon. You can get to Loikaw and also to Demoso through Dung Ka Mee village as it connects Demoso and Moebye,” the rescue worker said, referring to the road where the bombs hit.
The military council has not released any information on the incident.
According to the statement released by the KNDF, 61 junta soldiers had died in the eight nonstop days of battles on Wednesday.
More than 20 resistance fighters had also been killed during that same period, according to reports released by their respective guerrilla groups.
