YANGON: A Myanmar junta airstrike on a remote village medical clinic killed 11 people including a doctor and his wife, locals said. A 2021 military coup has plunged Myanmar into a fractious civil war between the junta, anti-coup guerillas and ethnic armed groups locked in a deadly stalemate over the Southeast Asian country.

Locals said the Saturday morning airstrike hit the village of Hnan Khar in the western region of Magway, in a zone currently held by anti-coup forces. “It flew very low and I heard a loud bomb blast when we were hiding,” said one villager on Sunday.

“When I went to clear up the area I saw only pieces of human bodies,” he added. “It felt terrible to see it and my mind is still not clear of the image.” The eyewitness and a second man from the local area said a doctor and his wife were among the 11 killed when the explosion tore through a makeshift clinic opened in a house.

“The military is attacking more frequently with airstrikes in recent months and all civilians are very afraid,” said a local resident. “They are always listening to the sound of military fighter jets and getting ready to hide.”

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2025