Myanmar: 17 killed in fresh fighting near border with India

According to locals and a human rights organization, as the civil conflict in Myanmar intensifies, airstrikes by the occupying military on a village controlled by pro-democracy resistance in the northwest of the nation have resulted in at least 17 civilian deaths and more than 20 injuries, including nine children.

Just south of the Indian border, in the Khampat town of the Sagaing district, was Kanan village where the airstrikes occurred. The military, however, refuted claims of responsibility for the Sunday aerial attack, saying instead that Khit Thit Media—an independent online news outlet that supports the anti-military resistance—was spreading fake information.

Since Aung San Suu Kyi’s administration was overthrown in 2021, combat between rebel militias and the military has raged throughout Myanmar. The military administration has increased airstrikes against ethnic minority guerrilla groups who have been fighting for more autonomy for decades, as well as the armed pro-democracy Peoples Defense Force, throughout the last two years. Occasionally, the two factions collaborate to conduct operations against the army.

A fighter jet fighter dropped three bombs on the village of Kanan, on the outskirts of Khampat, about 280 kilometers (170 miles) northwest of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, killing 17 civilians who were in buildings near the village school, according to a local who assisted with rescue efforts and spoke to the Associated Press on Sunday.

Before a ceremony to commemorate the end of combat training for new resistance force members at another school in the area on Sunday, the resident estimated that about ten houses close to the school were destroyed by explosives during the assault.

However, an unidentified local official was quoted by Myanmar’s state-run MRTV television in its nightly newscast as stating that there had not been any aviation activity in the region on Sunday morning. The military frequently charges local pro-democracy groups with conducting terrorist operations, although a number of analysts have uncovered proof that the army routinely violates human rights.

After a coalition of three armed ethnic minority groups, led by the Arakan Army, launched a significant attack on October 27 and took control of towns in the northeast of the nation as well as important border crossings for trade with China, the military increased bombing. Last week, the army was forced to cede the city of Laukkaing, which is located in northern Shan state, close to the Chinese border, by the opposition troops.

In the midst of the planned offensive, the Arakan Army escalated the fighting by attacking outposts in its native state of Rakhine in the west. After the military coup in February 2021, the People’s Defence Forces, an armed force advocating democracy, launched a widespread rebellion. This new and formidable front presented a challenge to the already-struggling military.

In the meantime, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, members of the Three Brotherhood Alliance that initiated the October offensive, took Namhsan township last month and killed at least five people, including three teachers, in an airstrike on the township on Sunday.

A new conflict broke out on two fronts last year when insurgent groups representing ethnic minorities attacked security stations in Myanmar, forcing thousands of refugees from that country to flee into India. The ongoing fighting was perceived as one further setback for the junta, which is already under pressure from growing armed resistance stoked by resentment over the coup and repression.

India issued a warning in response to an increase in violence in Myanmar, advising its citizens not to travel there. It also recommended that Indians residing in the conflict area complete a form with their names and other relevant information.

The Myanmar Air Force flew at least 151 soldiers from Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram, who had crossed the Indian border and infiltrated the Lawngtlai area on December 29. The soldiers had escaped an assault by fighters connected to the Arakan Army from their camps close to the international border.

(With agency inputs)