Myanmar junta still targeting civilians with deadly airstrikes, shelling
Radio Free Asia
Casualties continue to mount in Myanmar as junta forces make increasing use of airstrikes and heavy artillery bombardments on civilian targets.
Authorities have killed at least 4,131 people since the military seized power in a February 1, 2021, coup and embarked on a nationwide offensive to root out opposition. Data show that 44 civilians were killed and 142 injured in such attacks in September 2023 alone.
On September 28, 2023, four relatives were killed when a shell landed on their house in Sagaing region’s Kale township.
“The shell dropped, landed straight on their house and they died on the spot,” said a resident who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.
Locals said villages are often targeted after junta troops suffer casualties in fighting with People’s Defense Forces in Sagaing. After a battle between the two sides broke out in Sagaing’s Pale township in late September, the junta fired on the Htan Ta Pin neighborhood, killing a 64-year-old woman and destroying houses, locals said.
“The junta opened fire at least 10 times and five to six shells dropped on Htan Ta Pin, with the others falling on an adjoining neighborhood,” said a resident who also declined to be named.
The attacks are indiscriminate. Eighteen students were injured in late September 2023 in Sagaing’s Wuntho township when a shell exploded next to a school at midday. A resident said several children suffered severe bruising but that most were recovering with treatment from the People’s Administrative Organization, which opened the school. More than 100 children ages 4 to 12 attended classes in the courtyard of the village monastery.
Sagaing was Myanmar’s hardest-hit region or state in September 2023, with 20 people killed and 38 injured in aerial and land bombardments.
Bago region was the second-hardest hit with four civilians killed and 26 injured. The region has seen fierce fighting between junta troops and the military wing of the Karen National Union, a powerful ethnic group.
From January through August 2023, 816 civilians were killed in shelling and aerial attacks, with 1,628 people injured.
Junta forces rely on airstrikes and shelling in areas where ground troops have made little progress, according to political analyst Than Soe Naing.
“The air raids cause massive casualties nationwide,” he said. “The junta has stepped up its terrorist acts by carrying out these indiscriminate attacks.”
Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders met in Jakarta, Indonesia, in September 2023 to discuss a stalled peace plan for Myanmar. They expressed frustration with the military junta’s failure to end the violence.
“Malaysia and other member countries gave their views that we cannot allow this to continue without strong and effective measures imposed on the junta,” Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir said after the talks, according to Reuters.
