Three girls killed in Myanmar junta airstrike as fighting intensifies in southern Chin State

Three young girls were killed in a Myanmar military airstrike on a village in southern Chin State’s Mindat Township on Monday, local residents said, as the junta escalates its ground and air campaign to retake resistance-held territory. The girls, ages 10, 8, and 7, were killed when bombs struck Shein, a village northeast of the town of Mindat, at about 5:30am, according to local sources. Several other people were also reported injured. “The family just runs a small shop. There are no armed groups in the village,” one resident said. The military has intensified operations in Mindat and Kanpetlet townships since May in an effort to regain control of the strategically important area, which borders Magway Region and provides access to Rakhine State. Residents said airstrikes have accompanied the ground offensive, with attacks occurring almost daily. Additional airstrikes were reported east of Mindat later Monday and resumed early Tuesday, according to local residents. “They have been bombing continuously in eastern Mindat,” another resident said. “Since they can’t advance on the ground in the battle zones, they are relying on air power. Lately, they’ve started bombing non-frontline areas as well.” Residents of Kanpetlet Township also reported an increase in air attacks as fighting intensified. On June 19, an airstrike hit the town of Kyin Dway, where many displaced civilians had sought shelter, despite the absence of active ground fighting, according to local resistance authorities. The attack killed five civilians—three men and two women. The ongoing offensive has displaced more than 17,000 people from Mindat and surrounding villages, with most fleeing to nearby communities or forested areas, according to a committee assisting displaced civilians. The junta recaptured the northern Chin State towns of Falam and Tonzang earlier this year, but resistance groups continue to control the southern part of the state. Local sources said nearly 2,000 junta troops began advancing into the region through Magway Region in mid-May. Chin resistance forces, supported by allied groups including the Arakan Army, have mounted strong resistance, resulting in sustained fighting around Mindat and Kanpetlet. The military has stepped up efforts to reclaim territory since junta chief Min Aung Hlaing assumed the presidency in April, while simultaneously calling for peace talks with ethnic armed organizations and demanding the surrender of groups formed to oppose the military’s 2021 takeover. Civilian casualties have continued to mount as airstrikes intensify. According to a report released in early June by the National Unity Government’s Ministry of Human Rights, 107 people were killed in military airstrikes in May, including 17 children under the age of 18.

Three girls killed in Myanmar junta airstrike as fighting intensifies in southern Chin State

The regime has reportedly been bombing Mindat and Kanpetlet townships almost daily as it continues its push into the area from neighbouring Magway Region

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