Two army plane bombed a mine in Karen (Kayin) State’s Kyainseikgyi Township on Wednesday, killing three staff and injuring six others, in line with the Karen Nationwide Union (KNU).
The assault focused a lead mine within the village of Thapyu, situated about 35km north of the Thai-Myanmar border city of Payathonzu, the group stated.
“There have been 21 miners working there on the time, and three of them had been killed. Six others had been injured, together with a Chinese language nationwide,” stated Padoh Noticed Liston, the KNU secretary for Dooplaya District in Karen State, the place the incident occurred.
“It wasn’t even a army goal. It’s only a website the place common folks go to work to feed their households,” he added.
Dooplaya District is inside territory managed by Brigade 6 of the Karen Nationwide Liberation Army (KNLA), an armed wing of the KNU.
The mine that was hit within the assault was formally designated as Mining Block No. 6 and was one among 10 such websites within the space.
Based on Padoh Noticed Liston, two residential buildings, a storage, a eating corridor and several other automobiles had been additionally broken within the bombing.
A resident of Payathonzu, which is often known as Three Pagodas Cross, informed Myanmar Now that a number of victims of the assault had been receiving therapy within the city’s hospital.
“I heard there have been fairly a couple of injured, and I noticed lots of people arriving on the hospital,” he stated.
A KNLA battalion commander stated that the mine was lately reopened to present locals a chance to earn a dwelling. He denied that the group was cashing in on its operation.
“We don’t take any earnings from these mines, other than a small tax,” he stated.
Responding to stories of the incident, junta spokesperson Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun stated that “unlawful mining actions” had been being carried out on the website with out the regime’s authorisation.
He added: “It may be seen clearly by some images uploaded by media that [KNLA] Brigade 6 members in guerrilla uniforms” had been on the scene of the assault.
The army additionally carried out airstrikes towards one other village in Kyainseikgyi Township in early October, destroying an area monastery and injuring not less than one monk.
On October 23, an aerial assault focusing on one other ethnic armed group against the regime, the Kachin Independence Organisation, left greater than 60 folks lifeless in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township.
