Six killed in junta airstrike on Thantlang as bombing intensifies in Chin State

Myanmar’s military launched airstrikes on Thantlang Township in Chin State on Tuesday, killing six people, including an elderly civilian, and wounding at least seven others, according to local sources.Shortly after noon on February 10, junta aircraft bombed Tlangkhua village, about 30 miles from Thantlang town, with an explosion hitting a newly built home and causing heavy casualties. A senior source of the resistance Chinland Defence Force (CDF)–Thantlang said the military dropped a 500-pound high-explosive bomb.“At around 12:10pm, a plane dropped a bomb,” the source said, who requested to not be openly named. “Some villagers were in the fields, others at home. The bomb hit near the football field, where a new house was under construction, causing most of the casualties among those working on the house.” The victims included an elderly person, but further details have not been confirmed. Of the injured, four—including a child—are in critical condition, and three students were also among those hurt, the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) reported.The same source added that the village has no resistance forces and has not seen any military activity or clashes. The CHRO said about 1,000 residents fled into nearby forests and mountains after the Feb. 10 morning airstrike. About two weeks earlier, the military launched three consecutive airstrikes near a school in Khuafo village, roughly five miles from Thantlang town, damaging the school and nearby homes.Since late 2021, nearly all residents of Thantlang town have been displaced following junta arson attacks that destroyed over half the town, with both junta and resistance forces now holding positions there. While resistance forces hold the majority of rural areas in Thantlang Township, which hosts Camp Victoria—the Chin National Front’s (CNF) military headquarters—they have yet to secure Thantlang town, where both sides remain engaged in ongoing clashes.Of Chin State’s nine townships, resistance forces control Matupi, Mindat, Kanpetlet, Falam, Paletwa, and Tongzan. Junta forces are limited to positions in the capital Hakha and Tedim. Since late October, junta forces have pushed in three major columns to retake Falam, escalating airstrikes after months of losses. In recent days, bombing across Mindat, Kanpetlet and Matupi killed at least one student. The same source the CDF called the airstrike an “inhuman act,” highlighting that there have been some 400 airstrikes in Chin State, resulting in the deaths of 246 civilians and 154 resistance members. At least 1,140 people, according to a statement released in late January by the Institute of Chin Affairs Inc. (ICA). Over the five years of military rule, airstrikes have destroyed more than 2,000 homes, 76 religious sites, and 88 public buildings, including schools, hospitals, and clinics, the ICA reported.“With their limited control and failure to achieve their political aims,” the CDF source said. “They are now resorting to violence to intimidate the public.”

Six killed in junta airstrike on Thantlang as bombing intensifies in Chin State

A 500-pound bomb struck a village home near Thantlang, killing six civilians and injuring seven more, as the military expands air raids after months of setbacks on the ground

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