Residents report ongoing civilian casualties in some townships in Mandalay Region due to airstrikes and artillery shelling by military junta forces.
Villages in Kyaukpadaung, Singu and Thabeikkyin Townships in Mandalay Region are targeted by junta forces’ airstrikes.
On the evening of 1 September, the military carried out airstrikes on Myin Chan Kone and Tha Nat Pin villages in Kyaukpadaung Township, killing four civilians from Myin Chan Kone, according to local residents.
One resident said, “Two fighter jets came and bombed. There was no battle. Four family members from this Myin Chin Kone village died. There were no casualties in Tha Nat Pin, but houses were damaged in both villages. The two bombed villages are in the area between Kyaukpadaung and Taungtha”
Similarly, on the morning of 31 August, the military carried out an airstrike on Za Yat Kwin village in Thabeikkyin Township, Mandalay Region, killing three civilians.
A Zat Yat Kwin villager providing aid said the first airstrike by the military killed three civilians and injured two others.
A villager from Za Yat Kwin said: “It was very early that day. Around 1:30 am, a bomb fell near the forestry office. Two people were killed – an elderly man and a young man. Another person was also killed, reportedly from 7-Mile.”
An 80-year-old man and two men in their 20s were also killed by bomb shrapnel when two bombs exploded near the forestry office.
In addition, a man and a child who lived near the forestry office were injured by bomb fragments, and three houses were damaged.
In Singu Township, Thi Hla village was shelled by junta artillery shells on the night of 31 August, killing two children.
“It was fired by the troops stationed in Kyauk Myaung. Two people died and there were also casualties. Those killed were children. Kyaukmyaung is a town on the other side of Singu on the Irrawaddy River bank in Shwebo Township. They are firing from their camp there. They might have targeted the People’s Defense Forces (PDF), but it hit our civilian villages.”
Currently, most villagers in these areas are fleeing to places they consider safer as they face further airstrikes and artillery shelling.
The Mandalay People’s Defense Forces (MDY-PDF) have captured the Za Yat Kwin camp in Thabeikkyin Township on 11 August, which was attacked by the junta with airstrikes.
In Myingyan District, which borders Kyaukpadaung Township, the PDF have also launched offensives against junta and Pyu Saw Htee militia camps in Myingyan, Taungtha and Natogyi Townships since 10 August. This has led to fierce fighting and airstrikes by junta forces.
Sent by NMG.
