Myanmar Junta Drone Strike Injures Farmer in Karenni State as Regime Targets Agriculture

A 35-year-old woman was injured on Monday afternoon when Myanmar military forces launched a drone strike on a hill farm in eastern Hpruso Township, Karenni (Kayah) State, residents and administrative officials reported.

The victim, who was working in a peanut field when the bomb detonated, suffered a head wound near her ear and is currently undergoing medical treatment.

The attack marks the second drone strike on the same farming area in less than a week.

On August 22, a 17-year-old internally displaced student was wounded by a drone-dropped bomb while helping her parents on the farm during a school break.

“They are actively tracking and bombing families who go out to work their land,” said an internally displaced resident. “The drones fly overhead almost every day.”

Local sources say the military regime has systematically targeted agricultural zones with drone surveillance and airstrikes since June, coinciding with the start of the seasonal planting period for hill rice and peanuts. At least four civilians—three women and one man—have been injured by drone strikes in Hpruso Township during August alone.

Despite the constant threat of aerial attacks, displaced villagers say they have little choice but to continue farming to secure their basic livelihoods.

The escalation comes as junta forces maintain control over the strategic Demoso–Hpruso–Bawlakhe Union Highway, using the transport corridor to deploy ground columns while launching unmanned aerial attacks against surrounding farming communities.