Myanmar junta airstrike kills at least six in Karenni State’s Mawchi mining region

An airstrike by Myanmar’s military killed at least six people, including a pregnant woman and two children, in the tin-mining region of Mawchi in Karenni State’s Hpasawng Township on Tuesday, according to resistance forces and local residents. The attack occurred at around 4pm, when two junta fighter jets dropped bombs on a residential area known locally as Kyauk Kyar, a person living in neighbouring Mese Township, near the Thai-Myanmar border, told Myanmar Now.The victims were all living in a house that was completely destroyed by one of the bombs, according to a senior official of the Karenni State Interim Executive Council (IEC), an administrative body established by resistance forces.“The bombing hit homes in a residential neighbourhood. Casualties were high because there was a direct hit on one of the houses,” said IEC Secretary 2 Banyar Khun Aung, adding that it was the first airstrike in the area in recent months. At least eight other civilians were injured in the attack, sources said. Three were receiving treatment in territory controlled by resistance forces, while five others had been taken to Thailand for medical care, according to the Mese resident.Myanmar Now reached out to Khin Khin Soe, a spokesperson for the junta’s President’s Office, for comment on the incident, but did not receive a response. Karenni State has been the scene of intense fighting between the military and anti-junta forces since the 2021 military coup. Since the beginning of this year, resistance forces have largely shifted to a defensive posture, according to Karenni sources.Banyar Khun Aung said clashes continue in Karenni State’s Loikaw and Demoso townships, as well as near the town of Moebye in southern Shan State’s Pekhon Township. He suggested the military’s decision to strike Mawchi may have been linked to casualties suffered in these areas.Mawchi was captured by a coalition of major Karenni armed resistance groups, including the Karenni Army, the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force, and the Karenni National People’s Liberation Front, in January 2024.The area is an important mining centre for tin and tungsten, located about 60 miles south of the Karenni State capital Loikaw and about 40 miles from the Thai-Myanmar border. The Karenni IEC estimates that there are currently around 70 active tin-mining operations in the Mawchi area. According to a report earlier this year by the Kantarawaddy Times, a news outlet covering Karenni State, Mawchi had been hit by at least 20 airstrikes in the first two years after it came under resistance control. The deadliest previous attack occurred on August 17, 2025, when it was bombed twice in one day, killing 32 people, according to the IEC.

Myanmar junta airstrike kills at least six in Karenni State’s Mawchi mining region

The attack was the first on the resistance-held area in recent months, according to the Karenni IEC

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