The junta carried out at least 10 airstrikes on four locations in Hpasawng Township, Karenni State, in a single day, 10 November 2024.
Colonel Phone Naing, Adjutant General of the Karenni Army (KA) explained what happened.
He said: “The airstrikes began around 10:30 am, with Wanaung, a Kayah village, being bombed. The junta also targeted Nan Kit and Parpu villages, as well as a non-residential area near Thanlwin Bridge. The bombs dropped included both 500-pound and smaller bombs.”
One person was injured. “An elderly man was slightly injured in the bombing of Wanaung Village. He had been displaced by fighting and had briefly returned to the village to assess the situation but unfortunately was caught in the bombing. His injuries were not serious, and no other injuries were reported,” said Colonel Phone Naing.
He also pointed out that there had been no ongoing fighting in any of the areas hit by the airstrikes.
All the residents of Wanaung Village have fled due to the fighting. The junta has been launching airstrikes against abandoned villages like Wanaung because they suspect that resistance forces may be sheltering in them.
Currently, the majority of Hpasawng Township is controlled by resistance forces, but a small contingent of junta troops still remains.
Previously, on 8 November, four civilians were killed and three others injured when junta artillery fired into the villages of Noekoe and Thayetpin in Loikaw Township, Karenni State, according to a resident of Loikaw Town.
He said: “The military situation is tense in Loikaw Township. The junta is deploying many troops in Loikaw Township and conducting operations. Additionally, junta forces have been firing artillery indiscriminately into residential villages, resulting in civilian casualties.”
Also on 8 November, U Banyar, Secretary 2 of the Karenni State Interim Executive Council (IEC), the resistance Karenni State government, told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that two civilians were killed in a junta airstrike on Karla Village in Pekon Township, Shan State. Though Pekon Township is officially in Shan State it is considered part Karenni State by the IEC.
