The junta carried out airstrikes on the towns of Thibaw (Hsipaw) and Namtu in Shan State, which are controlled by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), on one of the most sacred days for Myanmar’s Buddhists.

The junta’s air force launched simultaneous attacks on the two towns on the morning of October 6, Thadingyut Full Moon Day, a designated religious holiday.

The junta bombed two TNLA-controlled towns around 7:30 am, damaging homes and other buildings and injuring at least one person.

A junta fighter jet bombed Panghaik Ward 2 in Namtu Town, destroying 15 houses and injuring a woman, according to a town resident.

“The bomb went off in an alley near the movie theater in Panghaik. We don’t really know how powerful it was. There weren’t many casualties, mainly because most people had gone to the monastery for Thadingyut Full Moon Day. Some locals had already left Namtu, afraid there might be airstrikes,” he told Shan Herald.

In Thibaw, a junta fighter jet also bombed the area around the General Administration Office, but details of the damage are not yet known.

The junta captured Kyaukme Town, previously controlled by the TNLA in northern Shan State, on October 1. Since then, it has launched a major offensive against Thibaw Town, carrying out at least five airstrikes over four days.

On October 4, the junta carried out an airstrike on Zeikonhuong Village in Namhsan Township, controlled by the TNLA in northern Shan State, killing two children and injuring nine civilians, including children, the TNLA reported.

On the morning of October 2, the junta bombed Namtu Town, killing four people displaced by the war and injuring at least five more, according to locals.