(Bangkok) At least 15 people, including children, were killed in airstrikes on a village in northwest Burma, local media reported on Sunday.
Burma is in the grip of increasingly violent fighting, with the junta clashing with its opponents in parts of the north and east of the country.
The strikes hit a village in Khampat commune, Tamu district, around 10:15 a.m. (11:15 p.m. Eastern Time).
Local media reported 15 deaths, including children, and 20 injured. But two witnesses, a man and a woman who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, said the death toll was higher.
“Nineteen people were killed, including eight children,” assured the man, who added that he saw a junta fighter plane flying over the village during the attack.
According to the same source, the first bombs targeted two churches in the village. A second attack took place as people fled these places of worship.
“Most of them were killed outside the churches as they ran for safety,” he said.
In total, the plane dropped six bombs, he said.
“They targeted the two churches, but the bombs fell outside and hit houses,” he added.
Another bomb hit near the local school, he said.
State media said on Sunday that reports of the attack were “false”, with MRTV saying no planes were operating in the area at the time.
The village is under the control of a group from the People’s Defense Forces (PDF), one of several groups that have formed to fight the junta.
The military calls these groups “terrorists.”
The man and woman who testified to AFP said 30 people had been injured. According to the woman, the number of victims could increase, because some people were seriously injured.
The injured are being treated at a local clinic, she added, without giving further details.