Myanmar Junta Escalates Drone Attacks on Civilian Targets in Karenni State

The Myanmar military regime has increasingly resorted to drone strikes targeting civilian infrastructure—including villages, schools, agricultural fields, and internally displaced persons (IDP) camps—across Karenni (Kayah) State and neighboring southern Shan State, local sources report.

Junta forces attempting to reclaim control of the Mobye-Nanmekhon-Demoso Highway have faced heavy resistance and significant casualties, prompting greater reliance on long-range artillery, airstrikes, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

On the morning of September 22, a junta drone bombed a village in eastern Hpruso Township, critically injuring a local man with shrapnel to his head and back. The escalating aerial surveillance has severely disrupted seasonal farming activities during critical weeding periods.

"On clear days, the junta uses drones to reconnoiter and attack people going to their plantations," an IDP relief worker told NMG. "Farmers are terrified to tend their terrace fields, which will inevitably impact crop yields and trigger a food crisis."

Artillery strikes also continue to claim civilian lives in border areas. On September 21, a 50-year-old displaced woman who temporarily returned to Warisuplai Village near Mobye Town to collect firewood was killed by a junta artillery shell.

Tragedy also struck western Demoso Township on September 16, when a junta kamikaze drone attacked an orphanage, killing a nine-year-old child. Additionally, five Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) personnel were killed in a drone strike near Moso Village in Hpruso Township.

Local rights monitors report that junta drone strikes and airstrikes have killed at least 20 civilians, including children, across Demoso, Loikaw, Mobye, and Hpruso townships since early September.

In response to the aerial campaign, resistance groups—including the Mobye People's Defence Force (Mobye PDF)—have warned civilians to avoid large gatherings, stay vigilant, and refrain from entering restricted conflict zones west of Mobye Town.