BANGKOK — An assault orchestrated by Myanmar’s military forces targeted a village in central Myanmar under the control of resistance factions, resulting in at least 27 civilian fatalities and 30 more injuries, as reported by opposition groups and online media outlets from Myanmar on Saturday.
The strike took place at 3 p.m. on Friday in Let Pan Hla village within Singu township, approximately 65 kilometers (40 miles) north of the major city of Mandalay, according to a representative of the Mandalay People’s Defense Force. The military refrained from issuing any statements on the incident as of Saturday.
Since the military assumed control from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021, Myanmar has been mired in chaos, igniting considerable public opposition. Initially, peaceful protests were met with violent suppression, leading many adversaries of military domination to arm themselves, thrusting large sections of the nation into conflict.
Escalating their airstrikes, the military government has targeted the armed pro-democracy People’s Defense Force and ethnic minority guerrilla factions, who have long battled for enhanced self-governance. Occasionally, these disparate groups collaborate in operations against the military forces. However, the resistance lacks mechanisms to defend against air raids.
Possession of Singu by the Mandalay People’s Defence Force (MDY-PDF), aligning with Myanmar’s principal opposition, occurred in July of the preceding year. A proclamation by the group on its Telegram channel on Saturday revealed that the 27 casualties from the airstrike at Let Pan Hla village included six children.
The spokesperson, Osmond, informed that roughly 10 properties adjacent to the village’s market were obliterated by the bombs, observing that “the airstrike wasn’t directed at military installations but targeted the marketplace replete with civilians.”
The actual circumstances in the village could not be independently corroborated due to significant disruptions in local internet and cellphone services. According to the independent online news platform Myanmar Now, the number of fatalities from the airstrike on a tea shop near the village surged to 30, with seven individuals deemed critically injured.
An analysis released the previous month by Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica, a research and advocacy entity in Myanmar, illuminated that, following the military’s takeover in 2021, 2,224 civilians have perished, and 3,466 have sustained injuries in 4,157 recorded airstrikes.
