AN AIR STRIKE by Myanmar’s military on a central village under the control of resistance forces has killed at least 27 civilians and injured 30 others, an opposition group and Myanmar’s online media said on Saturday.

The attack occurred during Friday afternoon in Let Pan Hla village in Singu township, about 40 miles north of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, a spokesperson for the Mandalay People’s Defence Force (MDY-PDF) said.

The military government has stepped up air strikes against the armed pro-democracy People’s Defence Force and ethnic minority guerilla groups that have been fighting for greater autonomy for decades. 

The town of Singu was seized by the MDY-PDF, which supports Myanmar’s main opposition, in July last year.

The group’s statement, released on Saturday, said that six children were among the 27 killed in the air strike that targeted crowded market stalls in Let Pan Hla village.

Osmond, the group’s spokesperson, said that about 10 houses near the village market were destroyed by bombs.

“This air strike was not aimed at a military target, but rather at the market area where civilians visit daily,” Osmond said in a message.

A report issued last month by Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica, a Myanmar research and advocacy organisation, said that since the military’s 2021 takeover, 2,224 civilians had been killed and 3,466 wounded in 4,157 air strikes.