Drone attack on Loikaw Thingyan pavilion injures 28 people: junta 

By Admin 16 Apr 2023

DMG Newsroom
16 April 2023, Loikaw, Kayah State

At least 28 people, including some junta officials, were injured when an anti-regime drone attacked a Thingyan pavilion in Loikaw, Kayah State, on April 15, according to sources on the ground and Myanmar’s military regime.

A coalition led by the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) launched a drone strike on the Kayah State government office’s central pandal at around 9 a.m. on Saturday, wounding 28 people including 13 women, the junta-controlled Ministry of Information said.

“A drone attack occurred when traditional dance troupes in colourful dresses were performing,”  said a source close to the matter. “Senior junta officials including the rector of the University of Loikaw were wounded in the drone attack. The rector and a senior junta officer are said to be in critical condition and some employees from the General Administration Department are among the injured.”

The injured are currently receiving medical treatment at Loikaw Hospital, and the conditions of the rector and junta officer are considered life-threatening, according to an official from a local charity in Loikaw.

The junta-appointed Kayah State Chief Minister U Zaw Myo Tin and regime officials visited the injured in the wake of the attack, said the regime’s Ministry of Information.

Following the incident, a large number of junta soldiers and police were deployed near Loikaw Airport and the housing for junta senior officials, with regime personnel conducting security checks on passersby, according to local residents in Loikaw.

“Around 50 junta soldiers and police were dispatched to the Thingyan pandal to provide security for Thingyan revellers this morning. No one is allowed to pass the Loikaw Airport and the housing for Kayah State ministers,” a Loikaw resident said.

A woman was killed and five others were injured after a bomb exploded near a Thingyan pavilion in Loikaw last year.