Three civilians including a child were killed in the Myanmar junta’s latest scorched-earth airstrike on the resistance-occupied town of Khampat near the Indian border on Monday.
A jet fighter dropped a 500-lb bomb on Khampat at around 2 am on Monday, killing three residents and wounding 10 in No. 1 Ward and adjacent Sawbwar Yayshin village. Houses were also damaged in the attack.
The strategic trade town lies on the Asian Highway to conflict-torn Kale Township on Sagaing Region’s southwestern border with Chin State.
Khampat was occupied by resistance groups in November last year.
Resistance forces have declared an emergency following Monday’s bombing raid.
The strike killed a young boy and injured his mother, a widow, said a volunteer helping the victims.
“Their hut was hit. … The child died on the way to hospital. The mother had her leg broken. A man was killed [in the same ward] when his body was torn apart. And one victim died in Sawbwar Yayshin,” said the volunteer.
In December, a regime counteroffensive by 200 troops failed to retake the town. They retreated after suffering heavy casualties during one week of fighting, according to local resistance forces. The regime has since targeted Khampat with indiscriminate airstrikes.
“They are carrying out continual raids and airstrikes in an attempt to reoccupy the town, as it is strategically located on the border trade route. So far, we have managed to repulse their attacks,” said a member of Tamu Township People’s Defense Force.
The parallel National Unity Government (NUG) says it is preparing to install a civilian administration in Khampat.
Fifteen civilians including children were killed in junta airstrikes in the area on Jan. 7. A church, schools and houses were damaged in the attacks.
Junta troops and allied Pyu Saw Htee militias have also been torching and bombing villages on the border of Kale and Chin State. More than 600 houses in seven villages were burnt between April 5 and 21, according to local resistance forces.
Fighting has been raging in northern Kale Township for days after resistance troops attacked junta deployments in Pyin Khone Gyi village. Junta forces responded by dropping bombs from drones.
On Monday, junta troops dropped bombs on two villages, killing a 67-year-old displaced woman and wounding a male villager.
The junta arson attacks have forced more than 30,000 residents to abandon their homes in Kale.
