Myanmar air force attacks civilian targets in four states

Junta warplanes killed at least a dozen civilians and damaged hospitals and schools over the past two weeks in a series of airstrikes in Chin, Rakhine, Mon and southern Shan states, according to local sources and human rights advocates. At least two civilians were killed and three sustained injuries when the regime’s air force deployed 500-pound bombs in a March 22 attack on a hospital in La Ei village, located in southern Shan State’s Pekhon Township, the Karenni Human Rights Group said. According to the rights advocacy group, as there had been no recent fighting or resistance presence in the vicinity of the village, the airstrike appeared to be a deliberate, unprovoked attack on civilian targets. Pekhon Township shares borders with Demoso and Loikaw townships in Karenni State. Karenni resistance forces have captured some 17 outposts from the Myanmar military in the township since launching an anti-junta offensive—dubbed Operation 1111—in November 2023. “We are contending with many challenges,” said Ko Benya, an official at the Karenni Human Rights Group. “Several health facilities have been forced to close or relocate due to junta airstrikes. This makes it harder for displaced people to access medical care.” Around 100 students have also been unable to return to their classrooms in western Demoso Township, Karenni State, since junta airstrikes damaged their schools in Loi Nan Hpa and Daw Si Ei villages on February 5, the Karenni Human Rights Group said. The attacks that day reportedly killed one man and four children between the ages of 11 and 13. The following day in Mon State’s Bilin Township, another school came under attack by a junta fighter jet three times in Min Saw village, according to spokespersons for the Karen National Union (KNU), one of the country’s oldest ethnic political organisations. A school building in Bilin Township, Mon State, destroyed in an attack by a junta fighter plane on Saturday. (Photo: Karen National Union) The KNU reported that the airstrikes resulted in one injury, as well as causing damage to two religious buildings and 12 civilian dwellings. Another junta airstrike on March 15 in Mindat Township, Chin State killed a mother and her six-year-old daughter, according to the Mindat People’s Administration Team, which is affiliated with the anti-junta resistance, as well as injuring four other civilians including two children. The airstrikes also damaged school buildings and residential houses in the village. The military has also carried out deadly airstrikes in Rakhine State, where the Arakan Army (AA) has been attacking junta outposts and fighting junta forces for the control of townships since November. At least 29 civilians were killed in Myebon, Minbya and Mrauk-U townships between March 18 and 24, according to locals and Rakhine State-based media outlets. Two hospitals in Minbya and Myebon townships also sustained damage in the bombing. The AA—Rakhine State’s largest and most powerful ethnic armed group—has succeeded in capturing seven townships in Rakhine State as well as Paletwa Township, Chin State, and continues to fight against the junta for control of Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships.

Myanmar air force attacks civilian targets in four states

The air raids, which have damaged hospitals, schools, and residential houses even in areas where no recent fighting has taken place, appear to be aimed deliberately at civilian targets

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