Myanmar’s military regime has claimed that five children were among eight people killed in a drone attack on a Thingyan water festival pavilion in Sagaing Region late last week.
The incident occurred in the Sagaing Township village of Kywel Pon on Thursday, the first day of the traditional Burmese New Year’s holiday season, sources there told Myanmar Now.
The village, located about 24 miles northwest of the town of Sagaing, is regarded as a stronghold of the military-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia.
A resident of a neighbouring village confirmed that at least seven people were killed and another 30 were injured when bombs were dropped on a pavilion set up in a football field next to the village school at around 5:40pm on Thursday.
“Everything was fine in the morning. Some people were just dancing along to the music [when the bombs were dropped] in the afternoon,” the local said.
“It was a village pavilion. They were having fun blasting music over the loudspeakers,” he added.
The junta mouthpiece Myanma Alin reported on Saturday that eight people, including five children, were killed, while 31 were injured by the series of blasts.
It also accused members of the People’s Defence Force (PDF), which the regime has designated a terrorist organisation, of carrying out the attack.
No group has claimed responsibility for the incident. However, resistance forces routinely use drones to target junta troops and their allies.
Yakkha, the commander of Battalion 1 of the Sagaing District PDF, told Myanmar Now on Friday that he was sure the attack was carried out by an anti-regime group, but still didn’t know which one.
He also said he doubted reports that children were among those killed.
“I haven’t heard anything about children, but it’s very unlikely. Not many children were present at the site, just Pyu Saw Htee members and junta soldiers,” he said.
However, an area resident said he had heard that more than half of the casualties were children, including many who were taken to the hospital with injuries.
He added that junta troops stationed in the village tracked the drone and tried to shoot it down. They also fired on other nearby villages with heavy artillery later in the day, raising fears of military raids, he said.
In an effort to signal a return to normal under its rule, the junta has encouraged the public to participate in Thingyan activities organised by local authorities. Few, however, attracted anyone not directly connected to the regime.
Earlier on the same day as the Kywel Pon attack, an explosion was reported at a Thingyan pavilion in the northern Shan State town of Lashio. Four people were killed and six were injured in that incident.
Kywel Pon is under the control of junta troops from Light Infantry Division 33. Together with Pyu Saw Htee members living in the village, they have carried out numerous raids on other communities in the area, according to locals.
Once a large village of around 2,000 population, Kywel Pon now has only around 100 of its original inhabitants, local sources said. Most are said to be Pyu Saw Htee members and their families.
In February, heavy artillery fired from the village landed in Gon Nyin Seik, a village in neighbouring Myinmu Township. Three people were injured in that incident, including a seven-year-old girl who was blinded in her left eye.
In January of last year, the Sagaing District PDF Battalion 1 and its local allies attacked junta forces stationed in Kywel Pon in retaliation for the killing of a monk and another civilian in Ta Pa Yin Kwe, a village located a short distance to the southwest.
