Myanmar junta carries out another deadly airstrike in Magway Region

A regime airstrike on a village in Magway Region’s Saw Township killed seven civilians on Tuesday, just days after at least 15 died in a similar attack in the same township last week. The latest aerial assault targeted the village of Taw Ma, which came under attack at around 3pm as some 100 residents gathered to receive donated blankets, mosquito nets, and other necessities, according to witnesses. “The village was bombed just a few minutes after we formed a crowd. Luckily, none of the bombs hit the place where we had gathered,” a Taw Ma villager said. Most of the damage was inflicted on the central and western parts of the village, where rescue workers say they discovered the bodies of seven people—two men, three women, and two children—amid the wreckage. “We found them under the debris. Most of the deceased were women. Two children—a 10-month-old infant and an 11-year-old boy—were also among those killed,” said a member of a local resistance group who took part in the rescue effort. He added that three other villagers, including a child, sustained injuries in the attack. At least eight houses in the western part of the village were also destroyed, according to residents. They added that the heaviest damage was just over 500m from where the villagers were gathered at the time of the attack. Taw Ma is a village of around 120 households, located around 15 miles north of the town of Saw, the township’s junta-controlled administrative centre. One survivor of the attack who spoke to Myanmar Now on condition of anonymity said that his aunt and brother-in-law were among those killed, while the others were all neighbours—including the boy, who was a close friend of his children. A 10-month-old baby killed by the airstrike on the village of Taw Ma in Magway’s Saw Township on May 14 (Supplied) “My children were in my house with their 11-year-old friend and my brother-in-law when the fighter jet bombed our village,” he said, adding that his 13-year-old daughter and six-year-old son both survived with minor injuries. A local close to anti-regime forces active in the area said the timing was deliberate. “The military regime has been targeting public gatherings in resistance-held areas, as they view civilians as enemies and supporters of the revolutionary forces,” he said. Last week, the military carried out an airstrike on a monastery in the village of Akyi Pan Pa Lun, about 25 miles north of Taw Ma, killing at least 15 civilians and injuring 34. That attack apparently targeted a meeting attended by villagers and members of the local civilian administration team. The regime has had to rely heavily on airstrikes in resistance strongholds in Magway and neighbouring Sagaing Region, as its ground troops can no longer advance into these areas. On Saturday, an airstrike on a school in the village of Ma Gyi Oak in Sagaing’s Depayin Township left at least seven people dead. The victims, who included both civilians and resistance fighters, were using a Starlink satellite connection to access the internet at the time. In April of last year, a massive assault on a ceremony held to mark the opening of an office for local pro-democracy administrators killed at least 100 civilians, including more than 30 children, in the village of Pa Zi Gyi in Sagaing’s Kanbalu Township.

Myanmar junta carries out another deadly airstrike in Magway Region

The attack, which killed seven civilians, including two children, comes less than a week after one that left at least 15 dead in the same township

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