Seven civilians were killed on Monday when Myanmar junta warplanes bombed Home village in Chin State’s Paletwa Township, which is under Arakan Army (AA) control, residents said.
Junta aircraft bombed the village three times on Monday afternoon despite the absence of clashes in the area, destroying houses in the village. The raid killed six men from Kyut village in Mindat Township and a resident of Dite Chaung Wa village in Paletwa Township, the Chinland Defense Force (CDF-Daai) said.
The victims were reportedly buying fuel from Mindat to sell in nearby villages.
Home village is in a CDF-Daai-controlled area on the border between Paletwa, Mindat and Kanpetlet townships. The village comprises around 80 mostly Daai-Chin ethnic households.
The attack came a month after an airstrike on the same village wounded a child on Dec. 19.
The Arakan Army, which is based in neighboring Rakhine State, declared it had taken full control of Paletwa on Jan. 14 after seizing all regime strategic bases and command centers in the township following two months of fighting.
However, the regime has retaliated with indiscriminate airstrikes in the township.
Four civilians including a child were killed and another three were wounded when a junta fighter jet bombed Kyee Lay village in Paletwa Township on Jan 15.
A CDF-Daai spokesperson condemned the airstrikes as brutal and indiscriminate attacks on innocent people by the military.
“They drop bombs everywhere because they are losing territory on the ground, including in Shan and Rakhine,” he told The Irrawaddy.
Revolutionary forces have so far taken 36 towns in Shan, Chin, Rakhine, Kachin and Karenni states and Sagaing Region, as a coordinated resistance offensive launched in October rolls across the country.
In late November, seven civilians were wounded in Paletwa’s Mee Za when the junta launched an unprovoked bombing raid on the village.
