July 3, 2024
Local sources have reported that five women, including children, were killed in an airstrike conducted by the military junta in Thandwe Township, Rakhine State. On July 2, around 1 PM, the military targeted Myo Paing village in Thandwe Township, resulting in the deaths of a 14-year-old girl, May Yu Ya Min, an 18-year-old, Ma Kyi Phyu Khin, a 21-year-old, Ma Wai Wai Htwe, a 45-year-old woman, Daw Myat Lay Sein, and a 76-year-old, Daw Thein Han.
A local resident commented, “There were no clashes near the village, yet the aircraft bombed. The military junta is bombing villages with civilians every day throughout Thandwe Township. Targeting the people is not a war. If they want to fight, they should go and confront those with weapons. This is outright killing innocent civilians. The remaining family members are devastated.”
The military junta and the Arakan Army (AA) have been engaged in intense military operations in Thandwe, Ngapali, and Taungup towns, with significant fighting reported at the end of June. The AA has been attacking the Myanmar military to gain autonomy in Rakhine State, having already seized control of ten towns.
In addition, it has been reported that the PNO (People’s National Organization) forces, operating under the military junta in the Shan State’s Sihsang Township, executed a villager from Thamyan Tai village. On the morning of July 3, at 7 AM, a local resident named Khun Tun Gwa was apprehended by the PNO while returning home from a funeral ceremony at the village and was shot in the fields.
Furthermore, the body of Khun Tun Gwa has reportedly been withheld by the PNO forces, who have not allowed family members to retrieve it. The military and allied forces are still stationed within Thamyan Tai village, and local residents have been restricted from leaving the village, according to statements from the PNLA (People’s National Liberation Army).
