Myanmar air force kills three in strikes on gold mining sites near Thapanseik Dam

Three civilians were killed and more than a dozen injured on Sunday in airstrikes that hit dredging rafts used for mining gold near Thapanseik Dam on the Mu River in Sagaing Region’s Kyunhla Township, locals said. Two fighter jets flew in from Homalin, Sagaing Region at around 3pm that afternoon and destroyed at least twelve rafts in a bombing raid on the west side of the dam, near the line between Kyunhla and Kawlin townships, according to a local man with ties to resistance forces.He added that locals recovered the bodies of the three slain civilians after the attack and may still find others. “There was no time to escape,” said the local man, who asked to remain anonymous out of concern for his security. “The planes took off from Homalin and arrived in under 10 minutes, then opened fire and didn’t stop shooting. Unlike in previous attacks, they didn’t hover first but struck immediately.” Myanmar Now has yet to confirm details about the deceased, including their ages and genders. Economic hardship and the threat of conscription for military service, along with soaring gold prices, have drawn many to work on the gold mining rafts at various sites along Myanmar’s rivers, according to a representative of the Kyunhla Activists Group who spoke to Myanmar Now. “Many fled their homes in junta-controlled areas to avoid being conscripted,” the representative said. “These young people have to take any available work, since they don’t dare remain in their hometowns and villages.” With an area of over 100,000 acres, the Thapanseik Dam reservoir west of Kyunla supplies water to farmlands in 10 of Sagaing Region’s 38 townships. The number of rafts on the reservoir used for gold extraction has grown dramatically in the years since Myanmar’s 2021 military coup. The area’s residents estimate that the total is now in the hundreds. The military has carried out aerial attacks on these dams intermittently since the beginning of the year, injuring several civilians before Sunday’s lethal airstrike. “We need to be very cautious now,” the Kyunhla Activists Group representative said. “Although the army says they’re running low on fuel, the airstrikes have continued.”“I’ve heard reconnaissance planes have also been seen flying overhead,” the representative added. Forces commanded by Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG)—the cabinet formed and endorsed by ousted members of parliament after Myanmar’s 2021 military coup—control the town of Pinlebu to the north of Kyunhla, as well as rural areas in the neighbouring townships. Since February of this year, Myanmar’s regime forces have escalated an aerial bombing campaign targeting gold mining rafts on the Thapanseik Dam reservoir on the Mu, as well as the upper Chindwin River in northern Sagaing Region and upper Ayeyarwady in Kachin State—areas where the armed resistance against military rule remains strong. Earlier airstrikes hit a restaurant near a gold mining site in Homalin Township in February, leaving seven civilians dead and five injured, and another site between Bhamo and Shwegu, Kachin State in March, killing at least 30 people. Local resistance forces speculated that the regime assumed revenue from the mining site was going to fund the resistance forces, prompting them to launch the airstrikes. “It appears they are trying to cut off our lifelines,” said a member of the NUG’s armed wing based in Homalin Township. “Our region depends on natural resources for income, and these operations have continued running steadily.” “In areas like Homalin, commodity prices are higher due to resistance blockades against the junta, while in territories we control, prices are lower,” the resistance fighter continued. “So it appears this is an attempt to pressure us.” Junta airstrikes killed at least 142 people and injured more than 240 throughout Myanmar last month, according to data collected by the NUG’s Ministry of Human Rights. Junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing announced last week that the Myanmar air force had added new aircraft to its fleet including Russian-designed Su-30 fighter jets, saying that securing air supremacy was crucial for the military to safeguard the country’s interests. Aftermath of the March 15 airstrikes on gold mining rafts at Thapanseik Dam in Kyunhla Township, Sagaing Region. (Photo: Infinity Group)

Myanmar air force kills three in strikes on gold mining sites near Thapanseik Dam

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