NUG reports 88 civilians killed in airstrikes as military blockades aid to flood-ravaged Myanmar

The General Hospital in Mabein Township, Shan State, was destroyed by airstrikes on Aug. 6 after wide scale flooding that began on July 28. (Credit: SHRF)

At least 88 civilians have been killed and 157 others injured in 239 airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar Air Force from Aug. 8-23, according to a report released by the National Unity Government (NUG).

The intensified aerial bombardment spanned Sagaing, Magway, Mandalay, Tanintharyi, and Bago regions, as well as Arakan, Shan, Karen, Chin, Mon, and Kachin states, compounding a humanitarian disaster caused by severe monsoon flooding across central and southern Myanmar.

Sagaing toll and the impact of dual catastrophes

Sagaing Region suffered the highest fatality count, where 37 people were killed by airstrikes and another 24 died in floodwaters across 14 townships.

“As most of the flat ground is flooded, people have nowhere to flee when airstrikes occur,” Toe Wai Aung, minister for humanitarian affairs, rehabilitation, and emergency management for the Sagaing Federal Unit Interim Government, told DVB.