Airstrike in Thayetchaung Township Wounds Four Civilians, Triggers Mass Displacement

October 7, 2025

HURFOM: On 5 October 2025, the junta launched an airstrike on Thae Chaung Gyi Village in Thayetchaung Township, Dawei District, deliberately targeting civilians in an area where no clashes were taking place. Four villagers, including a ten-year-old girl and a 91-year-old woman, were seriously wounded.

The sudden attack forced the entire community to flee in fear, leaving behind their homes and belongings as the military continued its campaign of bombings, artillery strikes, and arson across Tanintharyi Region.

Local sources reported that the child sustained shrapnel wounds to her hip and thigh. A woman in her fifties was hit in the back, while the man suffered a head injury. The most severe case was a 91-year-old woman whose leg was badly wounded.

“Most villagers had no time to prepare. Everyone ran from the village with nothing, no clothes, no food, nothing. This wasn’t a battlefield. The Junta used their aircraft to bomb civilians, as if declaring our homes to be war zones,” said a member of an emergency IDP response team.

Residents confirmed that junta forces have been advancing into Thayetchaung Township since late September with heavy ground troops, destroying homes and burning villages. A villager explained:

“Even when the planes are not bombing, they use heavy artillery to clear the way for their ground troops. Villages in Thayetchaung have burned down because of shelling. Most recently, near Kyauk Hlay Kar, they torched houses before pushing in with more soldiers. The column has not yet withdrawn.”

The escalation has forced entire communities into displacement. Humanitarian workers warn that IDP numbers in Tanintharyi Region could double within the next two months, especially ahead of the Junta’s planned sham election. Observers believe the military is escalating attacks to regain lost territory and to intimidate civilians into compliance.

Residents also note that the Junta has deliberately targeted civilian villages, making daily life impossible. Roads remain blocked, and food and rice supplies into Tanintharyi are cut off, leaving families hungry and unprotected.

“This is not just fighting resistance forces; it is deliberate punishment of civilians. Without urgent cross-border humanitarian assistance, people will face even more starvation and danger. International actors must not look away. Cross-border aid needs to be scaled up, and ethnic resistance organizations should be supported in preparing IDP resettlement and response programs,” said a humanitarian aid worker from a Dawei-based CBO.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News