Myanmar junta airstrikes kill five in Sagaing’s Kani Township

Airstrikes by Myanmar’s military junta killed five people, including two children, in Sagaing Region’s Kani Township on Monday night, according to resistance sources. The attacks began at around 9pm and targeted two villages, Kyauk Hle Kar and Nat Gyi, on the banks of the Chindwin River, the sources told Myanmar Now. While no casualties were reported in Nat Gyi, which was largely deserted due to previous air and ground assaults, at least five people were killed and another 10 were injured in Kyauk Hle Kar, the sources said. Among the deceased were 11-year-old Maung Chit and 14-year-old Ma Noe Noe, they added. According to locals, there are no resistance groups active near Kyauk Hle Kar. However, they said the villages were likely targeted because they have docks used by boats that regularly cross the Chindwin River. Residents of the area say that despite being repeatedly urged by resistance forces to build bomb shelters, few locals have actually done so. “Nobody expects bombs to start raining down on them, until it actually happens. And most people are more concerned with just making a living, so they don’t prepare for emergencies,” said one local who spoke on condition of anonymity. There are also other reasons some are reluctant to build shelters, he added. “There’s more to building a proper bomb shelter than just digging a hole in the ground. And when you’ve got one, you have to be careful about snakes.” Kani Township is located less than 40 miles northwest of Monywa, the capital of Sagaing Region and the seat of the junta’s Northwestern Regional Military Command. Apart from the town of Kani, most of the township is under resistance control. On Sunday, the leader of Myanmar’s coup regime, Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing, marked the 77th Air Force Day with promises to increase the military’s air power, which he said has played a major role in the ongoing struggle for control of the country. The following day, state-run newspapers published photos of combat helicopters, fighter jets, and surveillance aircraft used in the fight against resistance forces. They also reported that Min Aung Hlaing vowed to “relentlessly train” the regime’s air force personnel. According to Nyan Lin Analytics, a local research group, as of October 9, the junta’s airstrikes have killed 1,749 people, and injured 2,453, since the military seized power in February 2021.

Myanmar junta airstrikes kill five in Sagaing’s Kani Township

Two children were reported among the dead, as the regime vows to step up its use of air power against resistance forces

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