The junta conducted an airstrike on Mogok, a town under the control of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in Mandalay Region’s Mogok Township, killing 3 children and injuring 12 civilians.

At around 3:00 pm on October 21, the junta carried out an airstrike on Mogok Town, according to a statement from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). Despite the absence of active fighting in the area, junta aircraft dropped two 250-pound bombs on Kantaw Ward in the Shawliwine area, east of the town.

“One bomb landed near Payangazu, and the other hit close to a futsal field by a Shan monastery. The second blast killed three children who were playing futsal at the time, and several other children were among the 12 people injured,” a Mogok resident said.

The children killed in the airstrike while playing futsal were 6, 10, and 12 years old. Among the 12 injured were children aged 7 to 12 and adults between 38 and 71. Of the injured, five were male and seven were female. The airstrike also destroyed the futsal field and 11 houses.

The junta has intensified air raids on TNLA-controlled towns in northern Shan State and on Mogok. According to the TNLA, the junta’s airstrikes have killed more than 40 civilians, including children, and injured over 50 others in October alone.

The TNLA reported that the towns of Mantong, Kyaukme, Thibaw (Hsipaw), Mongngawt, Monglon, Namhsan, Namtu, and Momeik (Mongmit) in northern Shan State, as well as Mogok Town, were hit by junta airstrikes in October.

The TNLA has urged residents in its controlled towns to remain vigilant against airstrikes amid the junta’s intensified attacks. It has also condemned the junta’s deliberate targeting of civilian areas, calling it a war crime.

On October 20, the junta bombed the Myoma (main) market in Mongngawt Town, killing two locals, injuring two others, and setting the market ablaze.

photo credit - CJ