Burma Army launched airstrikes on several towns amid heightened tensions between the military and a civilian resistance group in northern Burma.
According to locals, Tatmadaw—as it's called locally—dropped bombs on Katha, in Sagaing Region, and Shwegu, located in Kachin State, at about 4:30 pm Sunday, May 31.
“The bombs landed near Myaenu Tawya and Dewaramani Buddhist monasteries, but there was no one wounded during the airstrikes. People ran into the jungle and were already hiding when the fighter jet arrived,” said a man asking for his name not to be published.
Katha People's Defense Force (PDF) fought with Burma Army in Katha Township, in Sagaing Region, on Saturday, May 30, a resident told NMG. “Maybe they attacked because they suspected there were PDF members deployed near the monasteries,” the man said.
Tatmadaw suffered casualties during fighting with the civilian force near a stream between Shwe Pyi Thit and Hener villages on Saturday, he said, suspecting the bombing on Sunday was in retaliation for the deaths of their soldiers.
According to a Katha PDF member, there were at least four soldiers killed and four injured. There were five resistance combatants wounded.
“The fighter jets flew over the area three times...dropping bombs around Minchaung Kon, Thaya Kon and Kyauakgyi area, near where there are Burma Army's ships on the Irrawaddy River recently attacked,” a member of Shwegu PDF told NMG. The resistance fighter explained two jets were involved in the attack.
Residents of Hpakant Township are also concerned about their security after fighter jets flew over the township.
Fighting between Tatmadaw and PDF units has also broken out in Kayah, Shan and Chin states. At the onset of monsoon season, the conflict has uprooted tens of thousands of villagers.
