Junta aerial attacks in an embattled region of northwest Myanmar killed eight people and injured dozens more, residents told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday.
The country’s Sagaing region is the epicenter of both insurgent movements against the military that seized control over the country in a 2021 coup and the recent 7.7 magnitude earthquake that killed thousands. It is home to towns and villages frequently targeted by junta soldiers for raids, arson, mass arrests and bombings.
The military regime’s air force dropped 47 bombs on Kale township’s Nat Chaung, Nat Myaung, Ngapha, Than Po, Chaung Gwa and Aung Chan Thar villages on Saturday and Sunday, killing seven women and one man and injuring 28 others, residents said.
Most people from Nat Chaung village fled the area, said one man, who declined to be named for security reasons.
“The damage was minimal as people had prepared bomb shelters and air defenses. Depending on the number of bombs dropped, the casualties could have been much worse,” he said, adding that the number of casualties had not been fully assessed yet because villagers had fled the area.
Everyone killed was a civilian, he added.
Following a ceasefire agreement with the rebel Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army in northern Shan state where Lashio was handed back to junta forces on April 22, the military has focused attacks on other parts of the country, increasingly targeting Mandalay and Sagaing region.
Myanmar’s exiled civilian National Unity Government, or NUG, comprised of politicians ousted during the 2021 coup, criticized ceasefire agreements made with the junta, saying they often use the alliances to increase attacks on other groups.
“If we are unable to unite nationwide and, due to various pressures, side with the military or reach some kind of agreement with the military, this is a very dangerous situation for us and for the revolution,” said the spokesperson for the NUG Prime Minister’s Office Nay Bone Latt. “It is very important for everyone to understand this situation and for the revolutionary forces to build a strong unity.”
Junta forces have bombed the country 225 times from the March 28 earthquake to April 29, with half the attacks occurring in Sagaing and Mandalay regions, according to data compiled by the NUG. The attacks killed 242 people, including 29 children, and injured 391.
Myanmar’s military declared a ceasefire from April 2 to 30.
RFA called junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for more information, but he did not respond by the time of publication.
Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.