Myanmar junta airstrike kills four near Pinlebu after BNRA commanders escape custody

A junta airstrike on a village in Sagaing Region’s Pinlebu Township killed four civilians, including a nine-year-old girl, and wounded at least 13 others a day after two detained former resistance commanders escaped custody there, according to residents. The strike hit Kinpan, a village about 12 miles south of the town of Pinlebu, at about 3:30pm Sunday (August 16), residents said. Two fighter jets dropped about eight bombs and strafed the village with machine guns, according to a resident who witnessed the attack. The resident said those killed were two women, a man, and a nine-year-old girl. The identities and ages of the other victims had not been independently confirmed, and the number of wounded could rise as authorities continue to assess the damage. “They dropped bombs twice,” the resident said. “The second time, they even used machine guns to strafe people as they tried to flee along the road.” About 15 houses were destroyed, the resident said. Some of the wounded suffered severe injuries, including the loss of limbs. The attack came a day after two battalion commanders of the Burma National Revolutionary Army (BNRA), who were being held by other resistance forces, escaped from a hospital in Kinpan where they had been receiving medical treatment. The commanders, Daung Nyo and Thubayaza, had been detained after National Unity Government (NUG) authorities raided BNRA positions in February in response to allegations of multiple crimes carried out by members of the group, including rape, torture, and murder. BNRA leader Bo Nagar subsequently surrendered to the military junta, while Daung Nyo, Thubayaza, and some other BNRA members joined forces with the NUG. The hospital in Kinpan is reportedly staffed by doctors and nurses participating in the ant-junta Civil Disobedience Movement and provides medical care to civilians as well as resistance members, according to residents. The two commanders escaped on the night of August 15 after reportedly drugging two guards with sleeping pills, according to local residents. It is believed that they fled to a junta base in neighbouring Wuntho Township, but this could not be independently confirmed. A screenshot of a video showing BNRA battalion commanders Daung Nyo and Thubayaza in the custody of NUG-led forces (Photo: NUG) A resistance source in the Pinlebu area said efforts to locate the two men have so far been unsuccessful. “We don’t know where they fled to; people are searching for them,” the source said. “But it’s not easy to find them again, and we don’t know where they’ve ended up.” A second source said the commanders had met with two visitors before their escape. The NUG had not issued a statement on the escape as of Tuesday. Myanmar Now reached out to NUG spokesperson Nay Phone Latt and Deputy Home Affairs Minister Kyaw Ni for comment, but did not receive a response. Efforts to contact junta spokesperson Dr. Khaing Khaing Soe by phone also went unanswered. Another junta airstrike targeted Mansilay, a village north of Pinlebu, on Tuesday afternoon, residents said. Two houses were destroyed, but no civilian casualties were reported. The attacks have heightened fears of further airstrikes in the Pinlebu area, residents said. Pinlebu has been under the control of resistance forces aligned with the NUG since 2024. It is located less than 40 miles northwest of the town of Wuntho, where the military maintains bases. The latest violence comes amid a broader shift in control across Sagaing Region, which has been one of the main centres of anti-junta armed resistance since the military seized power in 2021. Resistance forces captured several towns in the region during 2023 and 2024, including Kawlin, Indaw, Banmauk, Maw Luu, Pinlebu, Khampat, and Shwe Pyi Aye. The military, strengthened by mandatory conscription under its military service law, launched counteroffensives in 2025 and 2026 and retook Kawlin, Indaw, Maw Luu, Banmauk, and Khampat. The NUG and allied resistance groups now retain control of only a small number of towns in Sagaing, including Pinlebu, Myothit, and Shwe Pyi Aye. The escape of the two BNRA commanders is the latest reported incident involving detainees held by NUG-aligned forces. In early July, San Tin Tun, a leader of the Student Revolutionary Force based in Mingin Township, also escaped from detention while being held by an NUG-led People’s Defence Organisation.

Myanmar junta airstrike kills four near Pinlebu after BNRA commanders escape custody

The two battalion commanders were receiving medical treatment in an NUG-controlled village until they escaped the day before it was attacked

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