Despite the efforts of the Myanmar junta to encourage people to join celebrations of the Myanmar Thingyan water festival that runs from 12 to 17 April, there have been several incidents of bombings of junta events, armed conflicts, and junta arson attacks. 

Regarding the news on bomb blasts during the water festival, local residents in Shwekywepone Village in Sagaing Township told Mizzima that seven people were killed by a bomb explosion on a Water Festival Pavilion in the village on the evening of 13 April. 

As one resident told Mizzima, "It is a village where pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia dominates and the pavilion was bombed by drones while the people were drinking and enjoying the festival. More than thirty people were injured, and three of them died on the spot. Another four died this morning, making a total of seven." 

Mizzima has not been able to independently confirm which group carried out the explosion in Shwekywepone Village. 

In Ingapu Township, Ayeyarwady Region, a bomb exploded at a Water Festival Pavilion located at the intersection near the junta’s Education Department at around 7:45 am on 15 April. The blast resulted in two policemen and a junta soldier sustaining serious injuries. 

According to an official from the Ingapu Township People's Defense Force, the explosion was carried out jointly by their group and the Red Kite Democratic Forces. 

In Hlaing Tharyar Township in Yangon, two explosions occurred on the night of 13 April. As a result, junta soldiers arrived at the site to conduct inspections. However, during their visit, another explosion occurred, which caused the death of Colonel Zin Maung Lwin from the junta army. Additionally, another junta soldier and a 100-household elder sustained injuries. 

"More than 100 innocent people in Pazigyi Village, Kanbalu Township, Sagaing Region, were killed in the airstrike carried out by the terrorist military council. We carried out the bomb attacks to repay our blood debt for that airstrike," an official of the group that carried out the Hlaing Tharyar bomb attack told HTY [Hlaing Tharyar] Scout Information. 

In Mon State, a local armed resistance group named The Revolutionary Force For Justice (TRFFJ) said that they executed a bomb attack close to a Water Festival Pavilion in Thanphyuzayat at around 11 am on 14 April, but there were no casualties.  

Several PDF groups have declared that they do not want the general public to participate in the Water Festival during the junta's tenure. This is their way of countering the junta's attempt to portray the country as stable. 

In Yesagyo Town in Magway Region, People Defense Force [PDF] Column 1 fired heavy artillery on the compound of the junta’s Infantry Battalion 257 while the junta soldiers were celebrating the Water Festival, Lieutenant Seven from the PDF Column 1 told Mizzima. It is unclear if there were any casualties. 

After the attack, the junta’s battalion stopped the celebration of the festival, according to Lieutenant Seven.  

According to a member of the Salingyi Township Local Defense Force in Sagaing Region, the military junta's forces have been setting fire to Htantaw Village in Sallingyi Township since the morning of 15 April. As a result, residents are now fleeing the area. 

"This evening, I heard that three houses in Htantaw Village were burned,” he told Mizzima.  

The junta’s forces have been stationed in Nyaungpingyi Village since 14 April and have launched military offensives against nearby villages.