Myanmar Military Airstrike on Mogok Kills at Least 21 Civilians Including Pregnant Woman
- Victor Nwoko
- Aug 16
- 2 min read
A Myanmar military airstrike on the town of Mogok, known as the center of the country’s valuable gem-mining industry, has killed at least 21 people, including a pregnant woman, as the armed forces ramp up aerial attacks in their ongoing civil war.
The attack took place Thursday at approximately 8:30 p.m. in the Shwegu ward of Mogok township, about 115 kilometers (70 miles) northeast of Mandalay. According to the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), one of the ethnic militias resisting the military regime, seven additional civilians were injured in the strike. The TNLA reported that several homes and religious structures, including a Buddhist monastery, were heavily damaged.
Mogok was seized by the TNLA in July 2024 as part of a broader offensive in northeastern Myanmar that began late last year. The TNLA said a jet fighter dropped a bomb directly over the Shwegu area, destroying 15 houses and killing 16 women among the victims. Residents said the death toll may approach 30 because visitors were gathered at the home of the pregnant woman when the bomb exploded.
Images from the scene showed widespread destruction, with debris scattered around collapsed buildings and parts of the monastery reduced to rubble.
The military has not issued a statement on the attack. In previous instances, officials have maintained that airstrikes target only legitimate military objectives and accuse ethnic resistance groups of terrorism.
Myanmar has been engulfed in conflict since the army overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Peaceful protests were met with deadly force, and armed resistance quickly spread across the country. The military has increasingly relied on air power against the People’s Defense Force and ethnic militias, which have no means to defend against aerial assaults.
According to the TNLA, 17 additional civilians — including two Buddhist monks — were killed and 20 were injured in airstrikes in TNLA-controlled areas during the first two weeks of August. Earlier in the week, approximately 16 people, mostly truck drivers, were killed when airstrikes hit a convoy of vehicles stopped on a road near Sagaing due to heavy fighting.
Opposition groups and analysts estimate the military currently controls less than half of Myanmar’s territory but retains a strong hold over central regions including the capital, Naypyidaw. The military has intensified counter-offensives as it prepares for an election promised for later this year — a vote critics argue is aimed at legitimizing continued military rule in the absence of free media or participation by opposition leaders, many of whom remain imprisoned.
Several resistance groups have vowed to disrupt the planned election.
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