Myanmar junta airstrikes are attacking schools and other civilian buildings in rebel-held northern Shan State, killing residents and destroying houses, according to anti-regime groups.
On Wednesday morning, a technological school was bombed in the northern Shan State capital, Lashio, which was liberated by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), according to Lashio Reconstruction, a group formed by the MNDAA to rehabilitate the war-torn city.
Pro-junta Telegram channels reported that junta aircraft attacked the school where MNDAA troops are stationed.
A Lashio resident told The Irrawaddy that there were no MNDAA troops at the school and the junta was arbitrarily bombing the town.
On Tuesday morning, junta aircraft used two highly destructive 500lb bombs to attack two hotels in the city. Fighters later dropped two more of the large bombs near the hotels, killing a civilian, injuring around 15 people and destroying houses.
A junta fighter jet dropped two bombs on residential areas of Lashio on Sunday, destroying houses and injuring a resident, the MNDAA said.
Two junta fighter jets dropped six bombs on Nar Lwe village in Hsipaw Township, northern Shan State, on Monday, killing a family of four and injuring three other villagers.
Airstrikes destroyed over 10 houses in the village, said the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) that is allied to the MNDAA.
The TNLA controls Hsipaw and is attacking three junta battalion headquarters outside the town.
The MNDAA, TNLA and Arakan Army (AA) comprise the Brotherhood Alliance that launched Operation 1027 against the regime in northern Shan State last year.
The groups have since seized most of northern Shan State, liberating around 25 towns and townships and trade routes with China.
The AA has captured more than 10 of Rakhine State’s 17 townships since November last year.
The junta stepped up airstrikes on anti-regime territory in early September after junta boss Min Aung Hlaing vowed to retake lost land.
