Military council forces conducted an airstrike on a petrol station in Yay Htwet village, Salingyi Township, Mandalay Region, killing 13 civilians including two children aged three years and two years, while injuring more than 20 others, according to officials from the Salingyi Township People’s Defense Force (PDF). The attack occurred around 1:10 PM on April 19, when military council fighter jets dropped two bombs on the petrol station in Yay Htwet village.
The airstrike caused the petrol station to catch fire and triggered multiple explosions. Among the injured, several are in critical condition, suggesting the death toll could rise further. The bodies of the two deceased children remain missing, according to local residents. The Salingyi Township has experienced ten airstrikes since the day before Thingyan festival, and in all these attacks, no revolutionary forces were harmed, but only civilians suffered casualties, as revealed by Nagar Ni, the commander of the People’s Defense Force.
The previous day, on April 18, military council forces also conducted airstrikes on Laypku village and Yay Htwet village in Salingyi Township, resulting in 13 civilian deaths and three injuries. The total civilian death toll from airstrikes over these two days has exceeded 26, with numerous injuries reported by local sources. Local residents strongly condemn the military council’s brutal airstrikes that continue to claim innocent civilian lives. The repeated targeting of civilian areas has sparked outrage among local communities, who are bearing the brunt of the military’s increasingly aggressive aerial campaign in the region.
