Myanmar junta airstrike kills 5 children in Mon State

Mizzima

Five children have been killed and ten people injured by a Burmese military airstrike on Htee Hpa Doh Hta village, western Mon State at 10.10pm on 9 October, according to the Karen Peace Support Network in a press release 10 October. 

The explosion from the airstrike also destroyed and damaged homes, killed livestock and left a deep crater in the ground.

The village is in an area controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU) but had no soldiers or military presence and no fighting was taking place nearby.  The village has homes, a school, a health clinic and a monastery. The Burmese military deliberately targeted a civilian village.

This is a violation of international law.

Medics from the Karen Health and Welfare Department of the KNU provided emergency medical assistance to those injured. Heavy rain prevented the immediate evacuation of those injured to hospitals.

The use of airstrikes against civilian villages and camps for internally displaced people is a deliberate strategy to maximise casualties by bombing at a time when families are all likely to be in their homes or shelters.

Htee Hpa Doh Hta village is located in the Htee Hpa Doh Hta tract of Belin township, Doo Tha Htu district. Note: As part of their Burmanisation policies Burmese authorities tried to erase local Karen names and call Doo Tha Htu district Thaton district in Burmese.