Teenager killed in airstrike on resistance-held gold-mining village north of Mandalay

The Myanmar air force bombed the village of Leik Kya, Thabeikkyin Township on the Mandalay-Mogok road on Monday morning, killing one teenager, according to locals and resistance forces. The village, which is home to workers employed at a nearby gold mining site, is currently held by resistance forces and has become the target of an ongoing series of airstrikes by the military regime. According to the Pyin Oo Lwin District People’s Defence Organisation (PDO), the boy killed in the attack was 15. The bombing also severely injured another 15-year-old boy and a 30-year-old man, as well as destroying three houses and two motor vehicles, the PDO said. “The two who were injured were hit in the thigh and arm. Their injuries are quite severe. We don’t have further details about the deceased child yet,” a Pyin Oo Lwin District PDO spokesperson said. He added that the junta aircraft that conducted the airstrike had flown more than 120 miles from the Meiktila Shante Airbase in Meiktila Township south of Mandalay. The Pyin Oo Lwin District PDO has previously issued advisories and distributed instructions for civilians living in resistance-controlled areas to dig bomb shelters as a precaution. Leik Kya, where most residents have historically made a living as miners, was a large village bustling with traders, vendors, and vehicles before Myanmar’s 2021 military coup. Many of the villagers, having fled, did not return after the resistance forces gained control due to the risk of airstrikes. The 15-year-old boy killed by the junta airstrike on Monday (Photo: Pyin Oo Lwin District PDO) Fighting is ongoing in Thabeikkyin Township, where three junta battalions continue to operate despite the capture of the main town by resistance forces under the command of the publicly mandated National Unity Government (NUG). The junta has escalated airstrikes in areas where they suspected resistance forces to be operating, and targeted gold mining sites to cut off potential revenue streams for the resistance. “They're dropping bombs on the gold mining sites. They're destroying things so people can’t survive or make a living,” said Ni Ni Kyaw, the general secretary of the resistance group People’s Liberation Army (PLA). During the Buddhist Thingyan festival from April 16 to 18, the junta air force bombed Leik Kya village for three consecutive days, killing 13 people including children and injuring more than 20. The bombs fell near busy market stalls in the centre of the village, causing numerous casualties. They also dropped two bombs on the village of Yae Htwet about a mile southeast of Leik Kya, killing at least 24 civilians including children and injuring more, according to initial reports from locals. A statement released later by the NUG added that the bombing had destroyed a petrol station and revised the death toll to 32. In Thabeikkyin Township alone, there were more than 20 junta airstrikes in April, resulting in over 50 deaths, according to the Pyin Oo Lwin District PDO. More junta bombing raids hit both Yae Htwet and Leik Kya on May 7, killing one man and injuring nine other villagers. Fighting is ongoing throughout Thabeikkyin District between junta forces and various resistance and other allied groups, including the Mandalay Region People’s Defence Forces under the command of the NUG, the PLA powerful ethnic armed organisation Ta’ang National Liberation Army. While resistance forces have taken over the vital towns, areas under their control remain vulnerable. “We've only been able to capture the towns. There are still enemy military camps. Since they’re close to Thabeikkyin, the enemy can attack easily. They bomb to intimidate people, to make it impossible for people to live there, make them afraid to stay, stop the public from supporting the [resistance] forces in control,” PLA spokesperson Ni Ni Kyaw said. According to data collected by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), 163 people were killed in Sagaing, Magway, and Mandalay regions from April 1 to May 14 of this year, of whom 117 died due to junta airstrikes. The estimated death toll includes around 50 children under the age of 18.

Teenager killed in airstrike on resistance-held gold-mining village north of Mandalay

The attack was the latest of a series of deadly junta bombing raids on the village, which is under the control of armed groups fighting against the military regime

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