BANGKOK, Jan 12: A Myanmar junta air strike killed at least 15 civilians and wounded 10 others at a market in a gold-mining area in northern Kachin state, a spokesman for an ethnic rebel group that controls the area told AFP on Sunday.
The junta has been accused of carrying out multiple attacks on civilian targets as it struggles to quell resistance to its 2021 coup.
The latest attack happened around 11:00 am on Saturday, Colonel Naw Bu, a spokesperson from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), told AFP.
"All those killed were civilians including gold miners and local shopkeepers," he said.
The KIA, which can call on around 7,000 fighters, has been battling the military for decades for autonomy and control of local resources in Kachin state. The state is home to huge jade mines and rare heavy earth elements, most of which are exported to China. —AFP
