A Mindat man has died, and three others were wounded after two jet fighters repeatedly bombed and strafed their village in southern Chin State on Tuesday, June 4.
“The airstrike damaged many houses,” said Salai Yaw Mang from the People’s Administration for Mindat Township. The victim was a senior citizen, and the injured, one of whom was a woman whose arm was injured, are still in critical condition.
He stated that the planes carried out airstrikes on the village in the Taik Nel no-1 area at midnight where no fighting had been reported, dropping shells and firing machine guns.
Har Kalay, a resident of Mindat town, reported that two jet fighters made four passes, attacking the village for nearly 20 minutes.
Sources indicated that resistance forces were not active in the area, and there were no gatherings to attract the attention of the Military Council, which has frequently bombed villages and towns in the past when people gathered to organize against the dictatorship. However, the regime has also targeted weddings, cultural events, or gatherings for burials.
The houses in the Chin village, which are spread out, are separated by a road, and the aircraft targeted an intersection. Everyone fled for safety after the airstrikes.
Following regular jet fighters attacks on civilian targets in the township this year, the People’s Administration warned civilians to avoid celebrations in clinics, hospitals, schools, and religious buildings, and to dig trenches and bunkers.
From April to May, five people—three civilians and two Chinland Defence Force-Mindat soldiers—were killed, while 31 people in the township were injured during the same period. In April, airstrikes destroyed 24 homes, a school, two churches, and the Vum Thu Maung hospital.