Junta Airstrike Kills 6 Civilians Including 3 Children in Palaw Township, Tanintharyi — KNU Confirms Strike as SAC Offensive Expands Along Thai Border

Myanmar military junta forces conducted an airstrike in Palaw Township, Myeik District, Tanintharyi Region on May 18, 2026 (Monday), killing six civilians — including three children (reported as two 11-year-old boys and a 6-year-old girl) — according to a statement confirmed by the Karen National Union (KNU). The Palaw Township strike is the latest in an escalating SAC aerial campaign across southern Tanintharyi Region, which has intensified as junta forces press their three-column offensive toward Maw Taung — the KNLA Brigade 4-held Thailand border crossing approximately 15 miles to the north. Palaw Township lies in the Myeik-Dawei District of Tanintharyi Region, south of the active KNLA Brigade 4 operational zone. The killing of three children in the Palaw strike marks the fourth documented mass child-casualty airstrike in Myanmar in May 2026 alone, following the May 7 Kyauktaw boarding school strike (19 high school students killed) and May 1 Khawpuichhip village strike (five children ages 3–10 killed). The IIMM documented on May 16, 2026, that at least 640 airstrikes have killed or injured children since the February 2021 coup. Residents of Palaw Township and surrounding communities in Tanintharyi have been subject to intensifying junta airstrikes as SAC forces attempt to retake KNLA-held border zones captured in late 2025 and early 2026. Thousands of civilians across KNLA Brigade 4 territory have already fled toward the Thai border and forests since the junta launched its three-column Maw Taung offensive in mid-May, and the Palaw Township airstrike is expected to accelerate further displacement toward the Ranong border area in Thailand.