Myanmar Junta Airstrike Kills 11 at Clinic, Including Children

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The Irrawaddy, archives

 

A Myanmar junta airstrike on a medical clinic in the country’s central Magway region has killed 11 civilians, including medical staff and children, in one of the latest brutal attacks by the military regime.

 

The airstrike hit a clinic in Gangaw Township on Saturday morning, despite no ongoing battles in the area between junta forces and anti-regime militias, residents told Radio Free Asia (RFA).

 

“We found 11 bodies. There were five children,” said a local resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons. “Everyone was a civilian.”

Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG), the exiled administration opposing the junta, confirmed that among the dead were Dr Mya Soe Aung, 40, his wife, nurse Khaing Hnin Wai, 39, who was four months pregnant, and their five-year-old son. Eight other patients waiting for medical care also lost their lives.

 

The couple had previously worked at Tin Thar District Hospital in Sagaing Region and were active participants in the Civil Disobedience Movement, a peaceful resistance campaign against the junta following its 2021 coup. After resigning from their government positions, they continued to provide medical aid in conflict-affected areas.

Mass Arrests and Civilian Killings

In a separate incident, residents reported that junta troops executed four civilians who had been arrested during mass raids on villages in Salin Township, around 186 kilometres south of Gangaw. Their bodies were found in an abandoned toilet pit at a local school.

 

“The bodies were dumped inside an old toilet pit at Kya Pin’s school,” said a local administrative group member, speaking anonymously. “We cannot retrieve them for burial and have to cover the area with sand.”

 

Elsewhere in Magway region, junta forces burned down more than 100 homes in Koke Ko Tan and Nay Pu Khan villages, killing a 55-year-old woman in the blaze. The attacks have displaced approximately 17,000 people, leaving them unable to return home.

 

The junta has not responded to requests for comment.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 6,400 civilians have been killed by the Myanmar military since the coup in 2021.

This latest attack highlights the escalating brutality of the junta’s campaign against civilians, particularly those involved in the pro-democracy movement.

 

-2025-03-25