YANGON: A Myanmar junta airstrike on a remote village medical clinic killed 11 people including a doctor and his wife, locals told AFP.
A 2021 military coup has plunged Myanmar into a fractious civil war between the junta, anti-coup guerillas and ethnic armed groups locked in a deadly stalemate over the Southeast Asian country.
Locals said the Saturday morning (March 22) airstrike hit the village of Hnan Khar in the western region of Magway, in a zone currently held by anti-coup forces.
A spokesman for Myanmar's military could not be reached for comment.
"It flew very low and I heard a loud bomb blast when we were hiding," said one villager on Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
"When I went to clear up the area I saw only pieces of human bodies," he added. "It felt terrible to see it and my mind is still not clear of the image."
The eyewitness and a second man from the local area said a doctor and his wife were among the 11 killed when the explosion tore through a makeshift clinic opened in a house.
"The military is attacking more frequently with airstrikes in recent months and all civilians are very afraid," said the local resident, also speaking on condition of anonymity on Monday.
"They are always listening to the sound of military fighter jets and getting ready to hide."
While Myanmar's military has suffered stinging territorial losses, analysts say its powerful airforce, kept in the skies with Russian technical support, has been key to keeping its adversaries at bay.
The number of military airstrikes on civilians has risen year-on-year during the civil war, according to non-profit organisation Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), with nearly 800 in 2024.
That figure was more than triple the previous year and ACLED predicted the junta will continue to rely on airstrikes because it is "under increasing military pressure on the ground". - AFP
