Heavy shells fired by Light Infantry Battalion-530, based in Loilenlay in Loikaw Township of Karenni (Kayah) State, killed two 12-year-old girls and injured the left hand of a five-month-old baby.
At around 11 am on January 9, more than three heavy shells indiscriminately fired by LIB-530 landed and exploded in Peinchit village-tract in Loikaw. The attack injured three children and a woman in her 30s. Two children died at the scene, according to a local.
“The incident happened in a village in the western part of Loilenlay. The heavy shells hit four people. It occurred in the morning. It hit three children and an adult. Two of three injured children were killed,” said the local.
He added that the village where the explosion occurred is located 4 miles from Loilenlay town, near the Karenni-Shan border.
According to locals, on the morning of 9 January, fighting broke out when the joint revolutionary force attacked the Pagoda Hill camp, where the military council and Pa-O National Organization (PNO) are stationed, in Hsihseng Township, located about 10 miles from Loilenlay.
Following the encounter between the two sides, the Loilenlay-based battalion fired heavy shells at villages near the battle site, according to the revolutionary forces.
Karenni Army (KA) Commander-in-Chief Colonel Phone Naing stated that the actions of the military council constitute a targeted attack on the public.
Colonel Phone Naing said: “These attacks are inhuman acts. This is the practice of military council. They want to kill the people to show their strength in the face of their losses.”
Since the coup, the revolutionary forces and the military council have frequently clashed near the Karenni-Shan border town of Loilenlay. Locals report that the indiscriminate shelling by the Loilenlay-based battalion has resulted in civilian casualties.
According to the statement by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) on 9 January, between 1 February 2021 and 9 January 2025, a total of 6129 civilians and democracy activists were killed by the military council across the country.
Sent by Kantarawaddy Times
