A Myanmar junta air strike killed at least 15 civilians and wounded 10 others at a market in a gold-mining area in northern Kachin state, a spokesman for an ethnic rebel group told AFP on Sunday.
The attack occurred around 11:00 am on Saturday in a mining area in Tanaing Township, western Kachin state, according to Colonel Naw Bu, a spokesperson from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). "All those killed were civilians, including gold miners and local shopkeepers," he said.
The KIA, which has approximately 7,000 fighters, has been fighting the military for decades for autonomy and control of Kachin state's natural resources, including jade mines and rare earth elements, much of which are exported to China.
Images from local media showed a large crater amidst an area completely flattened and covered in debris. A resident of the town, who declined to be named, told AFP that three of the wounded had since died.
The KIA controls significant parts of Christian-majority Kachin state, home to the world's largest jade mines. The region has seen intense fighting since the 2021 military coup, with the junta accusing the KIA of arming and training newer People's Defence Forces resisting the military.
Separately, the Arakan Army reported that the junta dropped 15 bombs in three attacks on a public market in Kyauktaw, Arakan state, on Saturday. It claimed civilian casualties, but the exact number remains unspecified.
The Arakan Army is engaged in fierce clashes with the junta over control of Rakhine.
The junta, accused of multiple attacks on civilian targets to suppress resistance to its 2021 coup, could not be reached by AFP for comment.
