Twenty civilians killed in military bombings in Burma

June 30 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Some 20 civilians have been killed and another 20 wounded in bombings by military forces in recent days in the Shan and Mandalay regions, in central and eastern Burma, as part of a new offensive by pro-democracy militias.

The Taang National Liberation Army (ENLT) and its allies attacked the towns of Kyaukme and Nawnghkio, in Shan, last Tuesday and have managed to take both towns and more than 25 Army positions. They have also taken the towns of Madaya and Mogoke, in Mandalay, from the military.

The military forces have responded to the offensive with artillery fire and aviation bombing, which has caused the death of at least twelve civilians since Friday, according to the Irrawaddy news portal.

Six other civilians were killed in Kyaukme, including a Buddhist nun, and two more were injured, according to the ENLT report. A novice was also killed and four others were injured in a bombing of a monastery in Mogoke. In the western part of the same town, two women and a minor were killed.

Two more civilians were killed in junta shelling in Nawnghkio on Friday and four more civilians were killed in Kyaukme on Wednesday. “There are deaths every day. There is fear. We don’t know when the bombs will fall. We can’t eat well,” lamented one of the neighbors.

The ENLT has stated that the fighting has been concentrated since Saturday in Nawnghkio and that during that day at least ten soldiers died in combat with militiamen at the Shujinnthar base.

The Burmese military junta has ruled with an iron fist since a coup in February 2021, suppressing any resistance with brutal force and repeatedly attacking locations from the air.

According to data from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Burma (AAPP), 5,341 civilians have been killed since the coup, carried out by the military to annul the results of the November 2020 general elections, in which the National League for Democracy (NLD) of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi – currently imprisoned – won the parliamentary majority. The AAPP also reports 26,936 cases of politically motivated arrests, of which 20,654 remain in prison.