At least six civilians were killed when the junta launched airstrikes on a village in Bago region’s Shwegyin township on Tuesday, the Karen National Union (KNU) said.
Aircraft began bombarding Hteepado village, which is controlled by the KNU, at around 3pm. There were also airstrikes in the morning in Karen state’s Mutraw district in the Maewine area, which is held by the KNU’s Brigade 5.
The regime has launched numerous strikes since Saturday, when the KNU seized the Thee Mu Hta military base in Mutraw. The retaliatory attacks over the weekend killed three civilians and seriously injured seven others, the KNU said.
The KNU seized the Thee Mu Hta base on Anti-Fascist Resistance Day, the new name for Armed Forces Day coined by the anti-coup movement.
The regime has also been targeting schools with the strikes, the KNU added. More than 10,000 people have fled their homes because of the attacks.
Thai authorities on Monday forced more than 2,000 refugees who fled the airstrikes back across the border into Karen state.
The KNU on Tuesday urged the Thai government and the international community to provide humanitarian assistance and protection for people fleeing their homes.
It has also called on the international community not to recognize the junta, to cut off all military and economic ties, and to pressure it to stop attacking civilians.
Several other armed groups have said they will join the fight against the regime or have already launched attacks since the February 1 coup. The Kachin Independence Army has attacked police and army bases in the northern state.
Ten armed groups who signed a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the military before the coup have also declared their support for the anti-coup movement.
On Tuesday the three ethnic armed groups of the Brotherhood Alliance, including the powerful Arakan Army, threatened to end a ceasefire with the military in response to its mass killings of civilians across the country.
The alliance also includes the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army.
![Resistance fighters holding heavy weapons ammunition in central Myanmar. (Photo: Freedom Revolution Force [FRF])](https://myanmar-now.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/438869056_443267851680128_1706386881626943924_n-390x220.jpeg)
