At least five people, including an elderly woman, were killed by a junta paramotor strike in Sagaing Region’s Kani Township on Tuesday, according to local sources.
The attack occurred at around 5pm, when two bombs were dropped on Chaung Ma, a village located about 14 miles southeast of the township’s junta-controlled administrative centre, a local man told Myanmar Now on Wednesday.
“One of the bombs landed near a house and the other exploded in the house’s compound,” the man said.
Other residents of the village said that the deceased included one woman in her 60s, a teenaged boy, and three men. Seven others were reportedly injured.
“Daw Myat Htay, 65, and her son-in-law, 40, died while rushing to the bomb shelter. Her son also sustained injuries,” a local man said.
A man in his 50s and his nephew from a neighbouring house also died on the spot, he added. The fifth victim was identified as a member of a local resistance group.
The incident occurred near the Monywa-Kalaywa highway, about 23 miles northwest of the Sagaing Region capital Monywa, where the junta’s Northwestern Regional Military Command is headquartered.
According to a man close to resistance forces operating in Kani Township, the regime has carried out at least five aerial attacks in the area since early February.
“They weren’t targeting civilians. The enemy found out about our movements and came to bomb us,” said the man, adding that it appears that information has been leaked to the junta about local resistance supply operations.
There are multiple resistance forces active in Kani Township, an area known for its crude oil, charcoal, and logging industries, which have all served as a source of income for the resistance forces.
On Monday, a junta aerial assault in Mu Htaw, a village about eight miles north of Chaung Ma, destroyed two fuel trucks. Three people, including a monk, were injured in the attack.
At least three people were killed by junta aerial attacks in Mu Htaw in the first week of February.
The military has been using paramotors, or motorised paragliders, to bomb resistance strongholds in Sagaing and Mandalay regions since late last year.
Tuesday’s assault forced many residents of the area to flee Chaung Ma, according to a man from the village.
“Many people left their homes. Some are seeking refuge near the forest,” the man said.
