Myanmar junta air raids outside Bhamo kill seven, including Kachin fighters

The military regime’s air force bombed two villages held by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Bhamo Township, Kachin State on Monday, killing five displaced civilians and two KIA fighters, locals said.The junta launched airstrikes on Hku Li village some 11 miles northeast of Bhamo around 5pm that evening, killing a local man and injuring others.Around two hours later, junta aircraft also bombed Hsin Hkan village around 17 miles southwest of Bhamo on the south bank of the Ayeyarwady River.Two displaced women, two men, and two members of the KIA on security duty were killed when bombs hit the police station in Hsin Hkan, according to a man in his 50s from Shwegu, Bhamo District, citing accounts from Hsin Hkan villagers.“They suddenly dropped bombs on the police station without any provocation. I don’t know how many people were inside, but two KIA members died. There were also local displaced people. Most of them had come from Bhamo to seek shelter,” the man said.According to the 2014 census, Hsin Hkan is a large village with over 6,800 residents. The junta has established four military outposts in the village, which is located on the Bhamo-Shwegu road, to protect the Hsin Hkan Bridge over the Ayeyarwady as well as another bridge over one of its tributary streams. The KIA led a coalition of forces in capturing Hsin Hkan last May and has held the village since then.Large numbers of civilians began to flee Bhamo when the KIA initiated an offensive to take over the city, as well as the nearby town of Mansi, in December. Many took refuge in Hsin Hkan. Bhamo as seen from villages across the Ayeyarwady River in December 2024 (Photo: Nay Thit) The junta’s air raid in Hsin Hkan targeted the village’s centre, a site of shops and stalls largely run by displaced civilians near the police station, a villager said."The police station in the centre of the village has many shops surrounding it,” he said. “A lot of people must have been hit.”The exact number of people injured in the airstrike on Hsin Hkan is still unconfirmed. The KIA’s information department released a statement on March 18 confirming that seven people had been killed in Hsin Hkan and Hku Li. Myanmar Now has yet to reach KIA spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu for further details.While the rest of Kachin State has been relatively peaceful for weeks, clashes have intensified in and near Bhamo. A previous junta airstrike in Hsin Hkan killed three locals and injured two on February 14, just over a month before Monday’s attack. The KIA and its allies have already captured battalion bases, an airport, and parts of Bhamo’s urban wards in the months-long battle to take over the city. They are continuing to attack the army’s Military Operations Command 21 headquarters while junta forces fight back using drones, heavy artillery, and aircraft.Since the KIA launched a long-term offensive against the military in Kachin State last year, the group has captured the town of Mabein in northern Shan State and more than a dozen towns in Kachin State: Dawthponeyan, Injangyang, Chipwe, Hpi Maw, Mansi, Momauk, Myo Hla, Pangwa (Pang War), Sadung, Sinbo, Sumprabum, Tsawlaw, and the border trade towns of Kan Paik Ti and Lwegel (Lweje or Loi Je).

Myanmar junta air raids outside Bhamo kill seven, including Kachin fighters

The air force attacked villages under Kachin Independence Army (KIA) control that were housing displaced civilians

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