The People’s Defense Force (Mandalay) has confirmed that 11 civilians, including two children, were killed when the military council conducted an unprovoked airstrike on a busy market area in Letpanhlwa village, Sintguu Township, Mandalay Region. The attack, which occurred around 3 PM on March 14, also left approximately thirty people injured. The bombing took place without any ongoing fighting in the area, targeting civilians in a bustling marketplace without any military justification.
Similarly, on March 4, the military council had conducted another airstrike on the same village, resulting in the death of two civilians and causing multiple injuries. The People’s Defense Force (Mandalay) has noted an increasing pattern of the military council deliberately targeting civilian populations in areas under revolutionary forces’ control. These attacks on civilian targets constitute war crimes under international law, according to resistance forces. The military council’s escalating use of airstrikes against civilian targets demonstrates a clear pattern of intentional targeting of non-combatant populations.
Letpanhlwa village is located in a region firmly controlled by revolutionary forces within Mandalay Region and has repeatedly been subjected to military council offensives. Local sources report that as the military council faces increasing losses in ground battles, they have intensified their air campaigns, deliberately targeting civilian areas. The resistance forces have declared this incident as another example of the military council’s brutality against civilian populations. The targeting of marketplaces and other civilian infrastructure represents a significant escalation in the military council’s campaign of violence against its own people, demonstrating their disregard for civilian lives and international humanitarian law.
