Myanmar armed group says 11 civilians killed in junta air strikes

Myanmar military air strikes kill 11 civilians in Shan state, as ethnic minority group battles junta.

Myanmar military air strikes in northern Shan state killed 11 civilians and wounded 11 more, a spokeswoman for an ethnic minority armed group battling the junta told AFP on Friday (September 6, 2024).

The junta is battling widespread armed opposition to its 2021 coup and its soldiers are accused of bloody rampages and using air and artillery strikes to punish civilian communities.

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"They bombed at two areas in Namhkam" town on Friday around 1:00 am local time (1830 GMT), Lway Yay Oo of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) said.

The strikes killed 11 and wounded 11, she said, adding that the office of a local political party had been damaged.

The dead were five men, four women and two children, she said.

Namhkam is around five kilometres (three miles) from the border with China's Yunnan province, with TNLA fighters claiming control of the town following weeks of fighting last year.