A junta airstrike on Hpwi Village in Mindat Township, Southern Chin State damaged a Seventh-Day Adventist church and some buildings on 19 August, according to a resident.

They said: “The Junta targeted and bombed Hpwi Village at around 4:00 am this morning. There were no casualties, but a few houses were slightly damaged. All the villagers were hiding in the fields. They had already fled from the village because they feared aerial attacks [were imminent].”

As well as the church, a school and some houses were also damaged.

According to reports the junta launched the airstrike because it had received information that the Arakan Army had entered Mindat Township and were trying to take the township with a large force of soldiers.

Hpwi village lies about nine miles west of Mindat Town in Mindat Township. It is a village of about 50 households.

Also on 19 August the Mindat Chinland Defence Force (CDF) issued a warning notice to residents of Mindat Township telling them to avoid gathering together and to prepare hiding places away from their homes where they could hide from the ongoing junta airstrikes. It also warned people to only rely on authorised sources for safety information and to not spread any false information that could cause panic.