The junta launched airstrikes and a drone attack in at least five regions and states of Myanmar on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, killing at least 20 people and destroying civilian homes and religious buildings, according to residents.
At around 8 p.m. on Dec. 31, a junta fighter jet dropped bombs upon Thar Kyin Village, Nganzun Township, Mandalay Region, killing four men and a woman, said residents.
They said the explosions left six other villagers with severe injuries while eight cows were killed. At least 10 civilian houses were destroyed in the airstrike.
“Four among those killed were from the same family. They were killed by the bombs while they lay in their beds,” said a resident.
The junta’s military also launched an airstrike on the headquarters of the Pa-O National Liberation Organization/Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLO/PNLA) in Maukmai Township, southern Shan State on Dec. 31, though there were no clashes on the ground at the time.
According to the PNLO/PNLA, a junta fighter jet dropped bombs four times at around 11 a.m. on the last day of 2024, destroying a clinic inside the headquarters, which is located near Kaduu Kyi Village.
“We denounce these airstrikes, which were launched without any clashes on the ground, and we claim that the junta’s airstrikes are a war crime,” said a member of the PNLA.
On that same day, the junta launched an airstrike on Yo Tayote Village, Ponnakyun Township, Rakhine State, killing five people, according to Rakhine-based media outlets. The youngest victim was a 9-year-old boy and the oldest was a 76-year-old woman. Another eight residents suffered injuries.
And in Bago Region, the junta’s military launched a drone attack on a Hindu temple in Yam Nagar Village, Zeya Waddy town, Phyu Township, which reportedly killed seven men in their 40s and left four other men with severe injuries.
The Hindu temple was also damaged. The Myanmar Hindu Union released a statement on Jan. 2 denouncing the junta’s targeting of a Hindu religious site and the Hindu community.
The junta also launched an airstrike in Karenni State on New Year’s Eve. At around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, a regime fighter jet dropped bombs in and around the Sin Sakhan displacement camp east of Loikaw Township. Three internally displaced people—a 3-year-old child and two women aged 38 and 52—were killed. The regime also conducted a bombing raid west of Demoso on New Year’s Eve, according to residents.
In Bhamo Township, Kachin State, while casualties were not reported, regime fighter jets conducted airstrikes on the town on New Year’s Eve, destroying the Thein Taw Gyi pagoda and numerous homes.
The next day, the junta continued its air raids. At around 11 p.m. on Wednesday, the junta’s military launched airstrikes on Hseni Township, which is currently under the control of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). The airstrike on Hseni destroyed a civilian home.
In the four months from Aug. 1 to Nov. 30, 2024, junta airstrikes throughout the country killed approximately 240 people, according to data collected by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
