8-1-2024 (YANGON) At least 15 people, including children, were killed on Sunday (7th January) when a village in northwestern Myanmar (Burma) was hit by an airstrike. According to AFP, the attack took place at around 10:15 a.m. local time in a village near the town of Khampat, in the Tamu district of Sagaing Region, near the border with India. Local media reports indicated that the incident resulted in 15 fatalities, including children, with an additional 20 people injured.
However, two anonymous eyewitnesses informed AFP that the death toll could be higher. One male witness stated, “19 people have died, including eight children.” He claimed to have seen a fighter jet belonging to the military government, which carried out the first wave of bombings targeting two churches in the village, followed by a second wave as people fled the buildings.
The witness mentioned that a total of six bombs were dropped by the aircraft: “They targeted the two churches, but the bombs fell outside the churches and hit some houses.” He added that most of the casualties occurred outside the churches as people were trying to escape, including women and children. Official media outlets reported on Sunday evening that the reports of the attack were “fake news” and that there were no flights in the area at the time.
The targeted village is under the control of the People’s Defense Force (PDF), one of several organizations opposing the military government, which designates them as “terrorists.”
The graduation ceremony for new recruits of the People’s Defense Force, originally scheduled for Sunday, has been relocated to a nearby jungle.
“If they bombed the graduation area of the military, we couldn’t blame them,” said the aforementioned witness. “But they bombed the wrong place, they bombed the churches and residential areas.”
Another female witness informed AFP that 30 people were injured. She cautioned that the casualty count could rise as some individuals sustained severe injuries.
4 of 250lbs bombs were dropped from A5 fighter jet on Sunday church service in Kanan village in KhamPat, Sagaing-Chin border town near #India. Killed 11 incl. children. This is deliberate and targeting of #Christian faith during the day of worship and at the house of worship. pic.twitter.com/LiPyDZEGLD
— FreeKachin (@FreeKachin) January 7, 2024
