Bangkok: An air strike last week by Myanmar’s military on a tea shop in the country’s upper-central region of Sagaing killed at least 18 civilians and wounded 20 others, a local villager and Myanmar’s independent online media said on Monday.
The incident is the latest in a series of frequent and deadly aerial attacks targeting armed pro-democracy forces as the country approaches elections scheduled for later this month. The strikes often cause civilian casualties.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, 2021, triggering widespread popular opposition. After peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict.
The new attack occurred on Dec. 5, shortly after 8 p.m. in Mayakan village in Tabayin township, a resident said.
The village, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) northwest of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, is better known by its old name of Depayin.
The villager, who rushed to the site of the attack to help the victims, told The Associated Press that a five-year-old child and two schoolteachers were among those killed in the attack in the tea shop where dozens of people gathered to watch the Myanmar vs Philippines football tournament on a television.