A junta airstrike on displaced persons (IDP) sheltering in Kokeko Village, in the south of Kale (Kalay) Township in Sagaing Region, killed nine IDPs, including three children and injured a further 17 IDPs.
On 31 January 2025, at about 5:00 pm junta aircraft dropped two bombs on the IDPs staying in Kokeko Village, despite there being no fighting in the area at the time. The bombs caused severe damage to the IDPs’ shelters and resulted in many casualties, including the deaths of two boys aged 5 and 12 and an 8-year-old girl, according to a social worker from Kokeko Village.
He said: “Of the 17 injured, five were seriously hurt. The identity of one of the children among the deceased has not been confirmed yet. Five huts were reduced to ashes, and seven others were destroyed by the force of the blasts. Only a few bamboo poles and debris remain. The metal roof of the IDPs’ school was torn apart.”
The victims of the airstrike have been identified as Maung Maung, aged 5; Ma Phyo Phyo Pwint, aged 8; Ma Mae Thu Sein aged 12; Daw Hmat Thar aged 25; Daw Mi Tin, aged 40; Grade 9 student Ma Ei Tin Phyo, aged 17; Daw Cho Mar Win, aged 46; Daw Than Su, aged 35; and another about 12-year-old child whose identity has not yet been confirmed.
Kokeko Village is about 24 km south of Kale Town in Kale Township. About 80 IDP families made up of about 200 people are currently sheltering in makeshift shelters around the village. They have fled from the villages of Ingyin, Kyaukse, Hanthawaddy in Kale Township and Gangaw Township to the south, also in Sagaing Region.
