A representative from the Thihling Township People’s Defense Force has confirmed that the military council conducted an unprovoked airstrike on a location at Pauntaung Mountain in the southeastern part of Thihling Township, Magway Region. On June 16, 2023, around 1 PM, a fighter jet from the Tatmadaw Air Base in Tataoo conducted the bombing raid, dropping one bomb in the area. The People’s Defense Force spokesperson emphasized that there were no ongoing battles or military activities in the area at the time of the bombing, and investigations are currently underway to assess the extent of damage caused by the airstrike.
In a similar incident, two women were injured when the military council conducted an airstrike on Tagyi village in Myingyan Township, Mandalay Region. The attack occurred on the evening of June 15, when military forces dropped two bombs on the village. While one bomb landed outside the village without detonating, the second bomb exploded within the village, resulting in injuries to two civilian women and the destruction of one house. The unprovoked nature of these attacks has raised serious concerns about the military council’s targeting of civilian areas.
The military council has been systematically conducting airstrikes against civilian targets, including villages, monasteries, and schools, even in areas where there is no active conflict. These continued aerial attacks on civilian targets have prompted revolutionary forces to warn local residents to take special precautions against air raids. The resistance forces have declared these airstrikes by the military council as war crimes that violate international law, as they deliberately target civilian infrastructure and populations without military necessity. The pattern of such attacks demonstrates the military council’s disregard for civilian safety and international humanitarian principles, with local defense forces documenting these incidents as evidence of systematic violations against the civilian population.
