Myanmar Junta’s Airstrike Kills Seven Civilians in Sagaing’s Ye-U Despite Absence of Fighting

Burma News International (BNI) is a network of 15 independent media and news organizations based in and around Burma A deliberate junta airstrike on a civilian area in Ye-U Township, Sagaing Region, killed seven civilians on the spot on September 7, despite no active fighting being reported in the area, according to residents and resistance fighters. At 5:00 p.m., two gyrocopters—lightweight, two-person rotorcraft—launched from the Northwest Regional Military Command in Sagaing’s capital, accompanied by an Mi-35P attack helicopter, targeted a vehicle repair workshop near the market in Tinteinyan Village. The air assault killed a woman and six men aged between 20 and 50 instantly. Three other men sustained injuries, while the workshop, neighboring market stalls, and at least 10 vehicles were destroyed or badly damaged. “The gyrocopters flew low over the workshop—where there were only civilians—and dropped bombs,” a Ye-U resident told NMG. “Then the attack helicopter swept in, spraying machine-gun fire into the workshop and surrounding homes. People were terrified and fled everywhere.” Fearing follow-up attacks, residents from Tinteinyan and surrounding communities have evacuated to safer areas. “The junta only controls urban Ye-U, while rural villages remain outside its reach,” said an official from the local resistance-led Ye-U Township People’s Administration. “There were no ground clashes near Tinteinyan, nor were resistance fighters hiding there. The regime is deliberately targeting civilians. We urge the public to remain vigilant, heed air-raid warnings, and prepare bomb shelters.” Tinteinyan Village has been repeatedly targeted by junta ground columns, which have set homes ablaze on multiple occasions since the 2021 coup. Airstrikes have previously hit several sites in the village, including a local school. On the same day, junta forces also deployed gyrocopters to launch airstrikes across several locations in Chaung-U Township. The escalated air raids follow heavy clashes on September 6 between junta troops and local resistance forces in Yargyi Village, located in nearby Kani Township. An estimated 800 junta troops are currently conducting a major sweep along the strategic Monywa-Yargyi-Kale Highway. The offensive has forced thousands of residents to flee from Chaungma, Aung Mingalar, and Thintngan villages, as well as at least four settlements across the Yargyi Village Tract. Regime columns are currently stationed in Ywarma and Yaephyu villages within the Yargyi area to treat wounded soldiers, while troops continue to fire small arms and heavy artillery indiscriminately into nearby communities.