By Kantarawaddy Times — September 21, 2026
Twelve civilians, including six children under 16, have been killed in suicide drone and aerial attacks by the military junta in Karenni State as of the third week of September, according to information gathered by Kantarawaddy Times.
The death toll reflects only the cases Kantarawaddy Times has been able to reach and compile. Two of the victims were children under 10. A 5-year-old from the Maw Chi area and a 9-year-old from western Demoso.
Residents say the junta frequently carries out drone reconnaissance over, and suicide drone attacks on, places where civilians live and gather and where children play, even when there is no fighting in the area. A man who works to assist IDPs said that attacks on civilians are a terrible act, and that he is especially distressed by the deaths of children.
“The suicide drone attacks are truly terrible. It’s even worse that innocent children, who understand nothing, are losing their lives. Even as someone who helps others, seeing scenes like that really takes a toll on my state of mind. I can no longer even imagine what kind of mind the people who carry out these attacks and kill them must have,” he said.
Of the 12 civilians killed in the junta’s attacks, seven were male, and five were female.
Among the incidents, an airstrike on the Maw Chi area on September 1 killed five people, including a 5-year-old boy, a 15-year-old girl, a 20-year-old man, a 26-year-old woman, and a man whose age has not yet been confirmed.
Similarly, an airstrike on a location in Hsomo PraySoeLay (Shadaw) Township on September 5 killed five people, including two boys aged 11 and 13, a 14-year-old girl, and two women in their 40s.
On September 14 and 16, suicide drone bombings killed a man of about 40 in Nanmekhon Township and a 9-year-old child in western Demoso Township.
The junta’s attacks have also forced some schools in certain townships of Karenni State to close because of the security situation. A mother in Demoso (East) Township said that, besides the children being killed in the attacks, she is also worried about children who are attending school.
“There’s so much to worry about. My child goes to school, but I worry that aircraft might come and bomb the school, or that a drone might drop something. And staying at home is no better, because now they don’t separate school from home. They attack wherever they want and keep dropping bombs, so there’s never a moment when we don’t have to worry about our children,” she said.
In September, the junta carried out three airstrikes and at least five drone bombings in townships across Karenni State. In addition to civilian deaths, more than 20 people were injured, according to Kantarawaddy Times’ tally.
