At least 10 civilians including the bride were killed when the junta bombed a wedding in rebel-held Kyunkyi village in Bago Region’s Kyaukkyi Township on Sunday, according to resistance sources.
Over 20 others were injured, seven of them critically, in the unprovoked air attack.
“There was no fighting at the time of the attack,” a resistance fighter said. “There haven’t been any clashes here for a long time. The village was having a wedding reception, and both the bride and groom were civilians. The bomb landed beside the building where food was being served, so many people got injured.”
The Irrawaddy could not independently confirm the fatalities or the type of bomb used in the attack.
But according to photos seen by The Irrawaddy, at least two children were killed, and the house hosting the wedding was destroyed.
Kyaukkyi Township is in territory where the Karen National Union Brigade 3 is active.
Another local resistance fighter said: “We have gained control both east and west of the Sittaung River near that village, and since then there have been no clashes for nearly two years.”
The attack happened as the KNU and allied forces were launching offensives on junta positions in Karen State near the Thai border further east.
Junta airstrikes in the third week of May killed four civilians in Shwekyin and Kyaukkyi townships, according to the KNU. In total, more than 20 civilians were killed by junta airstrikes in April in territory the KNU controls, even though the regime has declared a post-earthquake ceasefire until the end of May.
According to Myanmar’s parallel National Unity Government (NUG), the junta has launched 445 airstrikes across the country since the quake, killing 416 people.
In one of the worst, a fighter jet bombed a school in O Htein Twin Village in Sagaing Region’s Depayin Township on May 12, killing 22 children and two young teachers.
