By Poesangle / MPA
In Northern Shan State, between September 1 and 11, the junta launched airstrikes on areas controlled by the Three Northern Brotherhood Alliance, leading to the deaths of 14 civilians, including children, and injuries to 27 others, according to statements of resistance forces.
These airstrikes of the military council caused significant destruction in Lashio and Namkham, where the Township Administration Office, department offices, an Indoor Stadium, a school, a home, a hotel, four cargo trucks, and 15 private cars were damaged in Lashio with the destruction of 20 homes in Namkham.
Additionally, on September 4, junta airstrikes in Aung Chan Thar Ward, Mantong, resulted in injuries to two civilians and the destruction of five houses and a factory.
On September 6, 2024, around 1:30 AM, the military council launched bombing runs in Namkham, where 13 civilians including a pregnant woman and two children, were killed with the injuries of 13 others followed by another airstrike in Lashio which resulted in the death of one resident, with 12 others sustaining injuries on September 9.
“There is normal public activity in Lashio with some fleeing to safety and some returning. The situation remains calm as of today (September 11),” a local man from Lashio noted.
On September 10, the junta airstrikes on the Namma Coal Mining Site near Nampawng Village in Lashio Township destroyed several houses, according to the MNDAA report on September 11.
This coal mining site was bombed by the military council for three consecutive days, from September 8 to 10.
In July, a junta airstrike targeted Theinni, resulting in the deaths of eight civilians and injuries to 20 others, with nearly 30 homes destroyed.
The military council launched airstrikes typically during the night and deliberately targeted civilian areas, causing civilian casualties and further instilling fear among the population, as reported by a senior NCO who joined CDM from the junta’s air force to MPA.
Currently, in Northern Shan State, the reconnaissance aircraft of the military junta flies on a daily routine over the towns controlled by the Three Northern Brotherhood Alliance during the first and second phases of Operation 1027, uplifting concerns among the residents.
“In Namkham, residents have resumed some normal activities. Some people have fled to Muse and China. Central Market has reopened, with schools and boarding houses still closed due to safety concerns. People open shops and travel in caution,” a woman from Namkham explained.
The junta, which had lost control over several towns and Northeastern Regional Military Command (Yamakha) in Northern Shan State, has increasingly relied on daily airstrikes, deliberately targeting populated areas, religious sites, schools, hospitals, marketplaces, and department offices to be able to reclaim their base.
These bombing campaigns have caused the deaths and injuries of not only civilians, including children, elderly, and pregnant women, monks, nuns but also military prisoners of war and their family members held by resistance forces on a daily basis, according to the Three Northern Brotherhood Alliance statement on September 10.
In the statement, the alliance stated that neighboring countries and international organizations are to be notified of these violent acts of military junta.