8,000 people were forced to flee their homes when the junta launched airstrikes and raids on two villages in the northwest of Salingyi Township in Sagaing Region, on 4 October.

A Mizzima journalist on the ground witnessed the airstrikes on the villages of Matauntta and Bikethayet. They managed to confirm that the villagers had fled, but could not confirm the extent of the damage.

Earlier, on the morning of 4 October prior to the airstrikes, local resistance forces attacked a military convoy of 300 soldiers near Bikethayet Village and inflicted casualties.

As a result, the convoy, which included 15 vehicles and two excavator trucks stopped in Matauntta and Bikethayet villages until noon that day.

It is believed the airstrikes were launched by the junta in retaliation for this attack.

A Bikethayet Village resident said:“ One Mi-35 helicopter opened fire on the two villages for approximately an hour. The junta also continuously used machine guns and heavy weapons.”

The airstrikes on Matauntta and Bikethayet villages have caused resident of the nearby villages of Lalngauk, Matauntta, Taesu, Shwethamin, Bikethayet, and other villages in the border area between Yinmarbin and Salingyi townships.