A Myanmar junta airstrike has targeted the house and office of a Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) commander in Kyainseikgyi Township, Karen State, near the Thai border, according to the armed group.
Three fighters dropped six bombs, injuring two fighters and destroying the house of Colonel Saw A Wan, a DKBA commander, and a Kyain Chaung village clinic, said a representative of the organization.
“The colonel and his family escaped because the planes opened fire first. They shot at the buildings and then dropped bombs,” he said.
The village clinic had been offering free health care since Covid, residents said.
The DKBA is a signatory of the 2015 National Ceasefire Agreement and is in talks with the junta. Its leaders recently met junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and Lieutenant General Yar Pyae, chairman of the National Solidarity and Peace Negotiation Committee.
Hundreds of Kyain Chaung villagers have fled their homes to avoid further attacks.
Payathonzu is mostly controlled by the Karen National Liberation Army and its resistance allies.
The group’s political wing, the Karen National Union, recently reported that 38 airstrikes had occurred in the area since the 2021 coup, destroying numerous buildings, including a Buddhist temple.
