At least 15 civilians were killed and 10 others wounded when a Myanmar junta airstrike targeted a market in northern Kachin state on Saturday, 11 January. The attack, which occurred around 11:00 am, struck a gold-mining area under the control of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an ethnic rebel group.
Colonel Naw Bu, a spokesperson for the KIA, confirmed the deaths, saying, “All those killed were civilians, including gold miners and local shopkeepers,” as reported to AFP. The KIA, which has fought the Myanmar military for decades in its pursuit of autonomy and control over local resources, controls parts of Kachin state.
The junta has faced increasing resistance since it ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. After violently suppressing peaceful protests, many opponents of the military took up arms, leading to widespread conflict across the country.
The attack in Kachin state is part of an ongoing pattern of violence by the Myanmar military, which has been accused of targeting civilian areas. The junta has also been engaged in heavy fighting with the KIA, which has reportedly been arming and training local militias, including the newly formed People’s Defence Forces, in their resistance against the junta’s rule.
In a separate incident, the Arakan Army, another ethnic rebel group, reported that the military had dropped 15 bombs on a public market in Kyauktaw, Arakan State, on Saturday. While the Arakan Army did not specify the number of casualties, it confirmed that civilians were killed and others wounded in the bombings. The Arakan Army has been fighting the military since November 2023, seeking autonomy for the Rakhine ethnic minority.
The Arakan Army’s offensive has resulted in the capture of strategic territories in Rakhine, including the regional army headquarters and 14 of the state’s 17 townships. Only the state capital, Sittwe, and two other key townships remain under military control.
Rakhine, which was the site of a brutal 2017 counterinsurgency operation, has witnessed heavy violence in recent years, with the military’s actions forcing around 740,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. The region continues to be a flashpoint for conflict between the military and armed ethnic groups seeking autonomy. (With inputs from Agencies)
MT