A junta airstrike on a gold mining site near Bhamo in Kachin State has killed one person and injured roughly 30 others.

The airstrike struck the gold mining site on the opposite bank of Bhamo, across the Ayeyarwady River. Locals from nearby Mongkar and Moeseinkyun frequently mine for gold at the site.

The area was bombed by two junta fighter jets on November 29. Colonel Naw Bu, spokesperson for the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), told MJN that neither the KIA nor its allied groups were present in the area at the time of the strike.

“Around 11:00 am, the junta aircraft dropped bombs. We can’t say exactly how many. There were no KIA troops there. It appeared the junta deliberately targeted the gold miners,” Colonel Naw Bu said.

He added that the KIA had received information indicating that one civilian was killed and 28 others were injured in the airstrike.

Social media reports claimed that three gold miners were killed and around 30 were injured in the airstrike. MNJ was unable to independently verify the casualties.

On September 17, the junta launched an airstrike on a KIA-controlled area in Shwegu Township, Kachin State, killing 17 KIA trainees.

On September 22, at around 2:00 pm, the coup regime conducted two rounds of airstrikes on a gold mining area near KIA-controlled Lang Se Village in Tsawlaw Township, killing two civilians and injuring several others.

A week later, on September 29, the junta launched an unprovoked airstrike on Sadon Town in Waingmaw Township, Kachin State, killing 11 civilians and injuring six others.

Photo credit - MOI