Junta Jet Fighters Bomb Kawkareik Township, Killing Three Civilians and Wounding at Least Five, Including a Pregnant Woman

May 15, 2025

In another brutal escalation of violence, Junta forces carried out an airstrike targeting a civilian area in Bo Tae (Lower), on the old Kawkareik to Thingun Nyinaung Road, Kawkareik Township, Karen State, on May 14, 2025. Around 12:08 PM, a Junta-operated jet fighter dropped bombs directly onto a local roadside food stall, killing three civilians and injuring at least five others, including a pregnant woman.

Initial reports confirmed that two civilians were killed instantly in the attack. Another critically injured victim later succumbed to their wounds. Local eyewitnesses said that the injured, including the pregnant woman, have been transferred to an ERO-operated medical team for emergency treatment.

“In the early afternoon, a junta jet dropped bombs directly on the Bo Tae Lower roadside food stall. Two people died immediately on the spot, and now a third victim has passed away from serious injuries. Five more people were wounded, including a pregnant woman,” a local source reported.

This attack is part of a pattern of intensified violence around Kawkareik, where heavy clashes continue between the Karen National Liberation Army and its allied resistance forces against the Junta’s troops. Junta forces have been relying heavily on airstrikes, artillery shelling, and drone bombings to suppress the growing resistance.

“Fighting is happening everywhere and almost every day— in Yankote, Hlaing Wa, Tatangu villages, and along the Asia Highway. Every day, artillery shelling, drone strikes, and jet bombings conducted by the Junta forces hit different parts of the region. There are no more ground offensives, only aerial and heavy weapon attacks,” said a source close to the conflict.

Ongoing fighting has been reported along the Asia Highway, particularly near Thatangu village, where Junta forces are using airstrikes and artillery fire to defend their positions. Since April 2024, the Junta has permanently occupied the Shwe Kyet Minn Ancient Buddhist Monastery in Tatangu village, turning it into the Aung Zay Ya Tactical Command base, further militarizing religious spaces and threatening civilians.

A KNLA-aligned officer shared: “Tatangu village has been surrounded for months now. The Junta is relying on support from the Hlaing Wa base to fire heavy artillery and using Y-12 aircraft to drop bombs — four bombs at a time. For two days straight, this area has been under constant assault. From the monastery base, the Junta indiscriminately fires artillery shells toward civilian areas. They are using airstrikes as a weapon of terror, and innocent people are paying the price.”

In addition to Tatangu, fighting and artillery shelling have intensified across Kawkareik, the old highway road, and the Lower Bo Tae road areas. Junta battalions are trapped in their bases, unable to move freely, relying heavily on shelling and air attacks to try to suppress the growing control of the resistance forces under the Karen ERO.

“Tensions are extremely high.” A source on the ground reported yesterday that junta forces, including Light Infantry Battalion No. 546 and other units stationed in Kawkareik, are increasingly resorting to indiscriminate violence as they lose territory and morale against the coordinated attacks by the KNLA and its allies. The people of Kawkareik continue to suffer the unbearable cost of this brutal military campaign. Entire villages have been abandoned, homes destroyed, and families forced to live in fear under the constant sound of shelling and bombings.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News