YANGON (ANN/AFP/THE STRAITS TIMES) – A Myanmar junta air strike on a medical clinic in a remote village killed 11 people including a doctor and his wife, locals told AFP.
A 2021 military coup has thrown Myanmar into a chaotic civil war involving the junta, anti-coup guerillas and ethnic armed groups locked in a deadly stalemate over the South-east Asian country.
Locals said the air strike on the morning of March 22 hit the village of Hnan Khar in the western region of Magway, in a zone currently held by anti-coup forces.
A spokesman for Myanmar’s military could not be reached for comment.
“It flew very low and I heard a loud bomb blast when we were hiding,” said one villager on March 23, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
“When I went to clear up the area, I saw only pieces of human bodies. It felt terrible to see it, and my mind is still not clear of the image.”
The eyewitness and a second man from the local area stated that a doctor and his wife were included in the 11 fatalities when the explosion struck a makeshift clinic that operated in a house.
“The military is attacking more frequently with air strikes in recent months and all civilians are very afraid,” said the local resident, also speaking on condition of anonymity on March 24.
“They are always listening to the sound of military fighter jets and getting ready to hide.”
Although Myanmar’s military has faced severe territorial losses, experts say its powerful air force, kept in the skies with Russian technical support, has been crucial in keeping its adversaries at bay.
According to non-profit organisation Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (Acled), the number of military air strikes on civilians has risen year on year during the civil war, with nearly 800 strikes in 2024.
That figure was more than triple the previous year, and Acled predicted that the junta will continue to rely on air strikes because it is “under increasing military pressure on the ground”.
