At least seven civilians, including a woman, have been killed after the Myanmar military carried out an airstrike on a gold mining market in Sagaing Region on Sunday.
Local military sources in Homalin Township reported that two junta gyrocopters dropped four bombs on the village of Pe Noke Swat at approximately 15:00 local time on February 22. The bombs struck a busy market area frequented by local vendors and gold mine workers.
“Six men and one woman died on the spot from shrapnel wounds, mostly to the head and torso,” a local source told the Myanmar Pressphoto Agency (MPA). “This area is populated strictly by civilians—traders and laborers. While revolutionary forces came to check the situation after the bombing, there was no PDF presence here to justify an attack. It was a purely civilian target.”
In addition to the fatalities, five others were wounded, with two reportedly in critical condition. The attack also caused significant damage to vehicles and market stalls in the vicinity.
The incident occurs just a week after the junta’s leader, Min Aung Hlaing, visited Homalin on February 15.
Sagaing remains one of the most volatile regions in Myanmar, bearing the brunt of the military’s air campaign against resistance strongholds. According to data from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), 41 civilians were killed in Sagaing Region due to junta attacks in the first twenty days of January 2026 alone.
The Myanmar military has increasingly relied on air power to suppress opposition, a tactic that international rights groups and the United Nations have repeatedly condemned for causing high numbers of civilian casualties.
