The Myanmar military council has been conducting airstrikes in Nyaunglebin District in Bago Region, an area controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 3, since the beginning of the month, according to local sources.
On the morning of 5 September, the regime’s air force again flew airstrikes on Danyinkone and Hpayarlaykone villages in the upper part of Kyaukkyi Township in Nyaunglebin District, resulting in some casualties and damage, according to a Kyaukkyi woman.
“The planes come every day and bomb. Also this morning they bombed a military camp near Danyinkone village. The bombs landed near the place where the children were studying. Fortunately, the place not hit directly. However, one house was hit. Also, two people from Hpayarlaykone were injured,” she said.
Locals reported that the military council’s daily airstrikes on villages in Kyaukkyi and Mone townships have caused casualties since the battle in which the Thitchaseik camp was captured, which took place on 31 August between resistance forces and the military council.
The airstrikes target civilians rather than resistance forces because there is no active fighting between the two sides, a local resident said.
“They (the military council) just bomb wherever they want, even if it is not near their bases and there is no fighting,” he said. Since the entire Kyaukkyi Township is under KNU control, they attack wherever they want. But not every village hosts resistance forces. So they just randomly attack the villages. Since the battle of Thitchaseik, they have been bombing with planes,” he said.
Caption – Locals flee their homes as the military regime conducts daily airstrikes in Nyaunglebin district
A leader of Karen Peace Support Network (KSPN) claimed that the regime continues to resort to artillery shelling and aerial bombardment because these are the only offensives it can conduct in KNU-controlled areas, and that such actions violate international human rights law.
“The military council can now only attack with air strikes and artillery. And as we can see, their targets have often been local residents, which is a violation of international law. Therefore, the international community must stop the sale of jet fuel to the military junta in order to protect people’s lives and property,” the KSPN official said.
A similar incident occurred on 4 September, when artillery shells fired from a junta base in Peinzaloke (village) hit a village east of Thuhtaykone village, killing a civilian, according to local sources.
Since the recent military coup, armed clashes, airstrikes, and artillery attacks on civilian villages in Nyaunglebin District have displaced more than 200,000 people and they are now in urgent need of assistance, according to Karen civil society groups helping the displaced.
Sent by KIC.