BANGKOK: Myanmar’s military airstrikes hit a hospital in Laukkai, a city controlled by an ethnic minority armed group near the China border, killing at least 10 people, local media reported on Friday.
The strikes, carried out by military planes late Thursday night, targeted the city, which has a population of around 25,000. According to a resident, who spoke anonymously for security reasons, 10 civilians were confirmed dead.
The northern Shan state has been experiencing intense fighting since late June, when an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups intensified their offensive against the military along a major trade route to China.
The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) has controlled Laukkai since January, following a major defeat for the military when over 2,000 junta troops surrendered there.
MNDAA spokesman Li Jiawen confirmed that a military airstrike hit a hospital in Laukkai but could not provide details on casualties.
Recent weeks have seen repeated airstrikes on Laukkai by the military following the MNDAA’s renewed offensive, which has undermined a ceasefire brokered by Beijing.
Photos taken on Thursday and shared with AFP by a Laukkai resident showed empty streets. MNDAA fighters have also entered the town of Lashio, which hosts the military’s northeastern command.
On Friday, fighting continued in Lashio, with reports that MNDAA fighters had entered a military hospital and killed an unspecified number of patients and medical staff.
Recent clashes in Shan state have resulted in numerous civilian casualties, according to both the junta and local rescue groups. Neither the junta nor the ethnic alliance has disclosed specific casualty figures.
Myanmar’s border regions are home to numerous ethnic armed groups that have been in conflict with the military since the country’s independence from Britain in 1948, fighting for autonomy and control of valuable resources. Some of these groups have supported newer “People’s Defense Forces” (PDFs) that emerged to oppose the military after the 2021 coup.
China remains a significant ally and arms supplier to the junta but also maintains relationships with armed ethnic groups in Myanmar near its border.
