Myanmar junta airstrikes kill two, injure four southwest of Mandalay

A bombing raid by the Myanmar air force on villages in Mandalay Region’s Natogyi Township resulted in at least two deaths and four injuries on Tuesday afternoon, according to local sources. According to a man living in the township, the junta planes attacked Kun Ohn village around 16 miles southwest of Natogyi following intense clashes that had impacted the military regime’s administrative functions in the township. However, none of the fighting had taken place in the village targeted in the airstrikes, he said. Two residents of Kun Ohn in their 60s, Aung Ngwe and Nyo Kha, were killed by shrapnel or bullets during the attacks, the local man said, and a monk and other villagers were hospitalised, with two in critical condition, due to the injuries they sustained. “The machine gun fire was so intense it even cut down trees. They say the aircraft was flying low when it came in,” said the local man, who has connections with resistance fighters based in the township. The attack damaged buildings on Kun Ohn village’s Buddhist monastery compound, as well as valuable items inside the main building and nearby residential homes, locals said. Damage to the Kun Ohn village monastery from airstrikes this week (Photo: Myingyan News) Photos seen by Myanmar Now showed the extent of the destruction. Myanmar Now was unable to reach junta spokespersons for comment, and the military had not issued any statement about Tuesday’s airstrike at the time of reporting. However, a military council press release on Monday referred to Natogyi and other townships in Mandalay Region, citing officials and locals to deny rumours that military aircraft had reached Natogyi, Ngazun, and Thabeikkyin townships on Sunday and claiming there had been no airstrikes in those townships. On Tuesday afternoon the People’s Defence Forces (PDF)—commanded by the publicly mandated National Unity Government—also reportedly attacked a junta air base in Tada-U township, just 10 miles from the Mandalay International Airport. The PDF claimed the junta’s security team burned the building and ran as they came under attack by the PDF, members of the group said. The military council has not issued any statement about the resistance attack in Tada-U Township. Intense clashes between the junta and resistance forces have been ongoing since early July in Myingyan, Natogyi, and Taungtha townships, including attacks on the base camps of junta-trained Pyu Saw Htee militias. Resistance forces attacked army outposts in Natogyi on the morning of August 10, and the junta called in air support during a swift counterattack. The resistance forces’ attack was concentrated on specific targets including a checkpoint locally known for its use in extorting bribes from passing motorists, and a junta police station near an Immigration Office on the west side of town. Resistance forces also attacked junta bases elsewhere in Mandalay Region, capturing the town of Singu and taking over bases in Patheingyi and Madaya townships. Anti-junta forces led by the Mandalay Region People’s Defence Forces also carried out assaults on Thabeikkyin Township north of Singu in a bid to capture it, incurring casualties in the resulting clashes on August 12, according to locally based resistance organisations. Under these conditions, orders reportedly came down from junta ministries in Naypyitaw, directing administrative staff in Mandalay Region to be prepared for emergency evacuations. Since early July, the junta has been conducting frequent airstrikes on Hseni (Hsenwi), Kutkai, Manton, Namhsan, Namlan, and Kyaukme townships in northern Shan State despite the lack of fighting in the area. The air force has also bombed the town of Hsipaw, where battles have been ongoing between junta forces and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), a powerful armed group that has held control of large swaths of territory in northern Shan State since last year. Six Ta'ang civil society organizations issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the junta airstrikes on areas controlled by the TNLA and resistance forces, highlighting the danger posed to civilians. Monastery in Hu Kwat village in northern Shan State’s Kyaukme Township, destroyed by junta airstrike on August 16. (Photo: TNLA)

Myanmar junta airstrikes kill two, injure four southwest of Mandalay

Scattered clashes are ongoing across Mandalay Region as resistance forces beleaguer military forces and junta-trained militias occupied by battles on other fronts including northern Shan State

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