Monk among civilians killed by drone strike in Sagaing Region

An unmanned drone fired on a convoy of passenger vehicles on Monday, killing four of the occupants including a Buddhist monk near Kyi Kyin village in Sagaing Region’s Kanbalu Township, local resistance sources said. In addition to the four killed in the strike, at least eight of the passengers were injured by the drone, with a local resistance group saying the Myanmar military was probably responsible. Two of the injured passengers are in critical condition, they said. The attack hit two passenger vans, causing severe damage to one that belonged to the Ngwe Toe Man bus line, according to a member of the Kanbalu Township People’s Defence Organisation (PDO). The vehicles were travelling the Shwebo-Myitkyina road, a crucial communication route connecting Kachin State and Sagaing Region, segments of which are under resistance forces’ control in Kanbalu Township. The nearest village, Kyi Kyin, is located 23 miles southeast of Kanbalu. The resistance forces said the attack was likely mounted by the military or junta-backed militia forces based in Htan Ta Pin village near the sugar refinery in the town of Zigon some nine miles west of Kyi Kyin village, resistance members said. A member of the Kanbalu Township PDO said six-rotor drones were used for the attack. “They were six-propeller drones. They're quite large and can easily fly distances of six to seven miles,” he said. Although there were many casualties in the first drone attack, he added, a second attack about half an hour later did not result in any injuries. Myanmar Now was unable to reach military council spokespersons for comment regarding the drone attack in Kanbalu Township or the claimed number of casualties. The military council and junta-run media have released no statements referring to drone attacks in the area. The military council did issue a public statement on November 14 denying allegations that army troops had torched more than 100 civilian homes in Kanbalu Township, claiming the military was working with local people in Kanbalu Township “in accordance with laws and regulations.” Kanbalu Township’s territory is divided in the ongoing war between the coup regime and resistance forces, with areas serving as strongholds for both anti-junta resistance forces and junta-trained Pyu Saw Htee militias. The militias in the township, overseen by the pro-military, ultranationalist monk U Warthawa, are among the most cohesive and well-equipped in the country. Since the beginning of this year, the number of civilian casualties from junta drone attacks have increased in Kanbalu Township, according to local resistance forces.A junta drone strike on the township’s Inn Lel Gyi village, where there had been no recent fighting with resistance forces, killed a four-year-old girl, a 10-year-old girl, and their 30-year-old mother in mid-October. Only a few weeks earlier, another drone attack on Hman Ni Pin village killed four civilians including a five-year-old girl.

Monk among civilians killed by drone strike in Sagaing Region

A six-propeller drone thought to belong to regime forces or regime-sponsored militias hit a group of vans travelling the Shwebo-Myitkyina road in Kanbalu Township, leaving four civilians dead and at least eight injured

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