Myanmar junta aircraft bombed Hseni’s crowded market in northern Shan State on Thursday evening, killing eight civilians and injuring eight others, according to Shan civil society organizations (CSOs).
Hseni Township was seized by the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) during Operation 1027 last year.
Sai Htu Kyi of the township committee of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) was killed during the airstrike.
The SNLD, which was founded in 1988, did not register with the junta-appointed Union Election Commission following the 2021 coup.
The MNDAA said two aircraft dropped eight bombs on Hseni.
Junta Telegram channels claimed the airstrikes killed MNDAA commanders but witnesses said all the victims were civilians.
A Shan CSO network member said: “No MNDAA troops were stationed at the market. They patrol the town but they are not based at the market.”
More airstrikes were reported on Friday but the casualties are unknown.
Clashes have been reported in Nawnghkio, Kyaukme, Hsipaw, Mongmit and Lashio townships in northern Shan State and in northern Mandalay Region.
The Brotherhood Alliance, of which the MNDAA is a member, and its allies have seized around 90 junta positions, including around 10 battalion headquarters, and occupied around four towns and most of the Mogoke ruby hub in northern Mandalay Region.
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army, also of the Brotherhood Alliance, reported on Thursday that at least 94 civilians had been killed and over 130 others injured by junta shelling and airstrikes in northern Shan State and Mandalay Region since June 25.
A 54-year-old Shan activist told The Irrawaddy: “Our people are already struggling and fleeing their homes, heading in different directions. Why target civilians?”
