Myanmar military warplanes bomb Seikphyu villages, killing nine

Junta airstrikes killed nine people, including a child, on Tuesday when warplanes targeted three civilian villages in Seikphyu Township, Magway Region, according to local sources.At around 10:30am, junta Y-12 aircraft bombed at least five villages in the northwestern part of Seikphyu Township—including Shar Hla, Wun Gyi, and Kyun Taw—where monastic schools are located. The attack, in an area that also houses two military weapon factories, killed nine civilians and left local communities reeling. Sources say the junta carried out three separate airstrikes on Kyun Taw village, killing two men and three women at the site. Shortly after, military bombs dropped on Shar Hla village killing a four-year-old boy and three men instantly. “All of the civilians were on a small cart when the bombs dropped, killing all of them,” an information officer of the local People Defense Team told Myanmar Now. “They had been traveling to Sin Gaung village near Shar Hla, and their cart was passing through the village when the bomb struck them.” The information officer added that the airstrikes slammed the villages despite no armed resistance presence in the area, and no ground fighting taking place at the time of the attack. “The victims were ordinary civilians with no ties to any armed groups, and the PDF forces did not occupy these villages,” a resistance officer told Myanmar Now, referring to the People’s Defense Forces. “The airstrikes targeted places where people were simply working on their farms. Yet they dropped highly destructive 120mm bombs onto them.”Junta Y-12 warplanes are often used for reconnaissance, but they can also drop bombs, with military forces mostly dropping mortar rounds below. Alongside the civilian deaths, nine people were injured, with some of them still in critical condition. Since the 2021 coup, Myanmar’s military has increasingly relied on airstrikes to suppress resistance forces, often hitting civilian areas far from active battle zones. Rights groups say the tactic has become a hallmark of the junta’s campaign, killing thousands and displacing millions across central and northern Myanmar.Seikphyu Township, located on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River is both a stronghold of resistance forces and the site of multiple weapons factories run by the Directorate of Defence Industries, or DI. These manufacturing sites are also commonly known by its Burmese acronym, ‘Ka Pa Sa.’ Seikphyu Township holds two factories, both DI 21, which produces air-dropped bombs, and DI 22, which manufactures rifles.A few hours after the airstrikes, junta troops advanced from DI 21, forcing residents of Kyun Taw, Shar Hla, Wun Gyi, Paing, and Nga Chin Chaung to flee as the assault continued on the ground. Directly north of Seikphyu, a junta convoy, consisting of hundreds of vehicles, has also been advancing, resistance sources say. Since July, following the junta’s announcement of elections in late December, the junta has intensified military operations in resistance strongholds across Sagaing, Magway, and Mandalay Regions, continuously launching airstrikes in an attempt to reclaim territory.

Myanmar military warplanes bomb Seikphyu villages, killing nine

Victims included a four-year-old boy as Y-12 aircraft targeted farming communities near junta-run weapons factories

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