Myanmar Airstrike on Crowded Teashop Kills 18 in Sagaing’s Tabayin Township

At least 18 people were killed in an airstrike on a town in central Myanmar’s Sagaing region, multiple local sources told AFP on Saturday, marking yet another deadly escalation in the country’s intensifying civil conflict.

Myanmar has been gripped by civil war since the military seized power in a 2021 coup, with regular clashes between junta forces and anti-coup fighters. Airstrikes—frequently hitting civilian areas—have become a hallmark of the military’s campaign.

According to a local administration official, two bombs were dropped on Tabayin township on Friday evening. One of them struck a crowded teashop, leading to the high casualty toll. The official said 18 people were killed and 20 others were injured.

“Deaths were high at the teashop as it was crowded time,” he said. All sources who spoke to AFP requested anonymity, citing safety concerns.

A rescue worker who reached the site about 15 minutes after the blasts said seven people died immediately, while 11 more succumbed to their injuries at a hospital. The airstrike “totally destroyed” the teashop—an important social gathering place in Myanmar—along with about a dozen nearby homes.

A survivor recounted that he had been watching a televised boxing match inside the teashop when the aircraft approached. “As soon as I heard aircraft fly over, I got my body to the ground,” he said. The explosion that followed was “deafening,” and flames engulfed the area. “I was lucky, I returned home after that.”

A junta spokesperson did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.

Funerals for the victims were held on Saturday. A local resident said some bodies were so badly burned or disfigured that their faces had to be covered. “I feel very sad because I knew some of them very well,” she added.

Sagaing has been one of the worst-hit regions in Myanmar’s conflict. In May, a junta airstrike in the same region killed 22 people — including 20 children — despite a ceasefire declared after a major earthquake.