Airstrikes kill 30 civilians in Sagaing Region
The People’s Defense Force (PDF) in Wuntho Township of Sagaing Region told DVB that nearly 30 civilians, including women and children, were killed and an unknown number of homes were destroyed by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on Namkhan village on Wednesday. Wuntho is located 180 miles (289 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa.
“[The] hospital, homes, and other buildings were destroyed. There are bodies still to recover and the death toll might increase,” a PDF spokesperson told DVB. It claimed that the Air Force dropped more than 10 bombs in two rounds of airstrikes on Wuntho and its surrounding villages. It added that telecommunications are unavailable, making it difficult for the PDF to share updates.
Retaliatory air and artillery attacks have been carried out on Wuntho, Kawlin, Kanni and Indaw townships, which are either partially or fully under National Unity Government (NUG) control. The NUG stated that 72 civilians, including women and children, were killed in regime attacks nationwide from the date of the earthquake on March 28 up to April 8.
People’s Defense Force arrests 100 regime troops
The PDF reported the arrest of at least 100 regime troops, including the commander of the Light Infantry Division (LID) 77, at the Japan Cave outpost in Indaw. PDF-led forces seized the outpost on Monday after an eight-month-long offensive against regime forces stationed there.
Indaw is located 209 miles (336 km) north of Monywa. A PDF spokesperson in Sagaing claimed that the regime troops abandoned the Japan Cave outpost due to a lack of reinforcements and supplies. It added that retaliatory air and artillery strikes have continued since April 7.
The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF)—an armed resistance group formed after the 1988 pro-democracy uprising—assisted the PDF in Indaw. The NUG announced a two-week ceasefire starting March 30. The regime and the KIA announced a 20-day ceasefire starting April 2.
UN Special Envoy on Myanmar visits Naypyidaw to discuss quake
The U.N. Special Envoy on Burma Julie Bishop met with regime Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Than Swe in Naypyidaw on Wednesday, regime media reported. The regime has not released details of the meeting except that the two discussed how the U.N. and Naypyidaw could coordinate their responses to the earthquake.
Bishop’s visit to Burma follows the 7.7 magnitude earthquake which struck on March 28. The U.N. reports that she visited communities devastated by the earthquake. DVB data states that the death toll is 4,346 with 7,890 injured, and 210 still missing as of Wednesday. Bishop met with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi on March 25.
A total of 290 regional and international civil society groups urged the U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres to investigate Bishop for alleged conflicts of interest over her business activities, and to make the findings of this investigation public. Guterres appointed Bishop to the role of Special Envoy on Burma April 5, 2024. Bishop has denied all allegations against her.
News by Region
CHINLAND—Chin World news agency reported that six locals, including an eight-month-old child, were killed and nine others were injured by an airstrike in Mindat on Wednesday. Mindat is located 127 miles (275 km) from south of the state capital Hakha.
Residents reported that two 500-pound bombs were dropped by the Air Force on Mindat. The airstrike damaged over 10 homes and one church. Previous airstrikes on Mindat were reported April 1-2. The town, along with Kanpetlet, was seized by the Chin Brotherhood in December.
MANDALAY—Madaya Township residents told DVB that one civilian was killed, three others were injured, and one home was destroyed by an airstrike on Yechaungbo village on Thursday. There are 120 households in the village. Madaya is located 23 miles (37 km) north of Mandalay.
“We heard two explosions. There is no ongoing fighting in the area. A woman was killed instantly,” a Madaya resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Locals claimed that Air Force jets from Tada-U airport were responsible for carrying out the airstrike.
SHAN—Lashio Township residents told DVB that four people were publicly executed by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) on Thursday. Lashio is located 107 miles (172 km) south of the Burma-China border town of Muse.
“This is the first time a public execution has taken place in Lashio [since it came under MNDAA control],” a Lashio resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The MNDAA will withdraw from the town before the end of April.
In December, six people convicted by the MNDAA of murder and rape were publicly executed in Laukkai, the capital of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone, which came under MNDAA control in January 2024 after it launched Operation 1027 on Oct. 27, 2023.
YANGON—An anti-coup protest group called Yangon People’s Strike shared photos on social media Thursday of sign boards placed downtown stating: “Military airstrike is [the] real fault” to highlight airstrikes carried out by the regime since the earthquake.
“We want the world to know that the regime is committing genocide and war crimes against its own people [by] conducting airstrikes inhumanly, leaving people from the earthquake-affected areas with no place to live or to flee to,” the group’s spokesperson told DVB.
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