Myanmar military escalates airstrikes in areas held by resistance, ethnic armed groups

Subscribe to the Myanmar Now daily newsletter. It's free. Sign up > A series of bombing raids by the Myanmar air force killed at least 22 people in Shan and Karenni states this week, according to local sources and advocacy groups. 11 civilians including children and a pregnant woman were killed in Namkham, northern Shan State, a trade hub under the control of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) on the China-Myanmar border, locals said. According to the same sources, a fighter jet dropped two bombs in residential areas of Namkham at around 1:30am on Friday. “They conducted airstrikes over two urban wards at night as people were falling asleep,” a man living in Namkham said. According to spokespersons for the TNLA, the people killed in the attack included two children, five men, and four women. 11 more sustained injuries, according to the TNLA and Namkham residents. Some Namkham residents, hearing the roar of a junta warplane, said they sought to take cover from the bombs in dugouts or other shelters, but noted that others were unable to find safety from the airstrikes. Shops and restaurants were closed in Namkham when a junta warplane was spotted on Friday morning at around 8am. The town of Manton, northern Shan State—around 50 miles southwest of Namkham—was also hit by junta airstrikes on Tuesday, according to the TNLA’s spokespersons. A man living in Manton was reportedly injured when a junta warplane dropped a 500-pound bomb near a tea factory. Another bomb detonated near a former army base, causing damage to nearby houses, the TNLA said. On Thursday, some 400 miles south of Namkham in Pekhon Township, southern Shan State, seven children and two adults were killed in a junta airstrike at around 10am. According to the locally active Karenni Human Rights Group (KHRG), a military fighter jet targeted a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) near the village of La Ei, where thousands of civilians are sheltering after fleeing violence near their homes. Photo taken by a local aid group assisting displaced people shows the aftermath of airstrikes in Karenni State (Photo: Karenni Hope) “Two boys and five girls between 10 and 13 years old lost their lives,” a KHRG representative said, adding that two women including a teacher were also among the victims. Many others were injured in the attack, according to the KHRG, although precise numbers could not be confirmed, and at least 20 dwellings were damaged. According to local sources, the IDP camp is far from the site of ongoing fighting between junta troops and resistance forces in southern Shan State. The junta air force also carried out raids in Karenni State and Sagaing and Mandalay regions this week, according to locals. On Thursday, two police stations operated by the Karenni Police Force came under attack by junta warplanes in Nan Mei Khon, Demoso Township, less than six miles west of the junta-controlled state administrative capital of Loikaw, according to local sources. Two people including a police officer were killed in the airstrikes, locals said. Eight more civilians were injured in Madaya Township, Mandalay Region during two airstrikes by junta warplanes on Tuesday, local sources claimed. On Wednesday, regime-controlled media outlets reported that the military junta chief Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing said there would be “counterattacks” in areas captured by ethnic armed groups and other anti-junta fighters. Min Aung Hlaing had been facing growing criticism since an ethnic armed group and its allies captured the Myanmar army’s northeastern regional command headquarters in Lashio, northern Shan State in late July.

Myanmar military escalates airstrikes in areas held by resistance, ethnic armed groups

The attacks coincided with remarks promising ‘counterattacks’ against anti-regime forces from junta chief Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, who was facing criticism about the military’s loss of a regional command in northern Shan State

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