Myanmar regime’s airstrikes kill at least 13 civilians in Sagaing, Magway regions

Junta airstrikes killed at least eight civilians, including four children, and injured six others in Sagaing Township on Sunday, days after a similar attack killed five in Magway Region’s Natmauk Township late last week, residents and local resistance groups said. The strike on Sunday took place at around 2pm and targeted Ta Laing, a village on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River about 19 miles north of the city of Sagaing, according to local residents. Witnesses said a junta fighter jet bombed the village three times, hitting residential homes on the eastern side of the community. “There was no fighting in the area,” a 25-year-old resident told Myanmar Now. “People were living peacefully. Everyone was just doing their farming or selling goods.” Those killed included siblings Ju Ju, 6, and Han Lin Htet, 14; Than Than Soe, 40, and her two children under the age of 10; Noe Noe, 20; Thin, 50; and Win, 52, according to local residents. Six other people were injured and were receiving emergency medical treatment, while three homes were destroyed. Photographs shared by residents showed severe blast injuries, including fatal shrapnel wounds suffered by one child. The victims were cremated later the same day, locals said. Ta Laing lies near the border with Wetlet Township, an area that has experienced repeated instability since Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021. Since late last year, it has also seen an influx of people fleeing junta offensives on the other side of the Ayeyarwady River in neighbouring Mandalay Region. Residents said many families had already been displaced by previous airstrikes and military operations. “Many villagers are now fleeing into the woods,” the local resident said. “This kind of thing happens frequently in villages around here.” A member of the People’s Servant Force, a local resistance group, said there had been no recent military activity by either resistance forces or junta troops in the Sagaing-Wetlet area. “Our side is not making any movements, and the army side is not active either,” the group member said. The attack followed another incident three days earlier in Magway Region’s Natmauk Township, where two military aircraft bombed the village of Tha Hmone Kone Gyi on June 25, reportedly killing five civilians, including two school-aged brothers. Three other residents were injured and 10 houses were destroyed. “It was carried out without any justification, as there was no fighting in the area,” said A Seik Thee, an officer with the Natmauk People’s Defence Organisation. Those killed were identified as Than Than Maw, 33; her sons Aung Hpone Khant, 12, and Nyi Hpone Khant, 8; Daw Yi, 69; and Chit Oo, 39. Myanmar Now sought comment from junta spokesperson Brig.-Gen. San Nyo Win following the Natmauk strike, but received no response. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 46 people, including four children, were killed by Myanmar's military between June 1 and June 25. Of these, 30 deaths resulted from airstrikes, the group said.

Myanmar regime’s airstrikes kill at least 13 civilians in Sagaing, Magway regions

Nearly half of those killed in strikes on villages in Sagaing Township and Magway Region’s Natmauk Township were children, sources said

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