Conflicting claims over drone strike that killed six in Mon State

Aid workers in Mon State’s Kyaikmaraw Township told DVB that six passengers in a vehicle were killed and six others were injured when an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), or drone, struck it at a checkpoint controlled by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) on Sept. 2.

“Resistance members tried to stop vehicles when they spotted a drone in the sky. But this car [didn’t stop],” an aid worker with knowledge of the incident told DVB on the condition of anonymity.  

The KNLA checkpoint is along the road connecting Kyaikmaraw to Kyainseikgyi Township in Karen State. Kyaikmaraw is located 11 miles (17 km) south of the Mon State capital Mawlamyine and 41 miles (65 km) south of the Karen State capital Hpa-An.

Regime media reported on Sept. 4 that 11 civilians were injured – but none were killed – during a drone attack carried out by the KNLA on its own checkpoint.