Junta bombs border village, hundreds flee to Thailand

A junta aircraft bombed Hteekhee Village, part of the Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 4’s territory, forcing hundreds of civilians to flee into Thailand, according to KNU.

The KNU’s Brigade 4 primarily operates in the Myeik-Dawei District, Myanmar’s southernmost region. Hteekhee Village, struck by the junta’s airstrike, is located in Dawei Township, Tanintharyi Region, near the Thai border.

At around 9:00 am on September 8, a junta Y-12 utility aircraft circled over Hteekhee Village, conducting 10 bombing runs and dropping more than 40 120mm grenades.

“The junta dropped bombs near the Thai border, destroying many villagers’ homes, shops, and workshops,” Padoh Saw Eh Na, the KNU secretary for Myeik-Dawei District, told IMNA that evening. The junta launched a follow-up airstrike on the area with jet fighters around 1:00 pm the same day, he added.