Ten people, including five women, were killed and at least 15 others injured by artillery fire from the military junta during renewed clashes in Nawnghkio Township in Shan State, local sources said.
The junta troops, stationed in Taung Ta Lone and Yay Tar Kone villages in the township on the border between Shan State and Mandalay Region, shelled Par Hat village with artillery at around 9:00 pm on 16 May, killing three women on the spot and injuring five others, including a child, according to Nawnghkio locals.
“We have had to flee the village again, so the situation is getting worse. Last night, artillery shells hit a house in Par Hat village. Three women were killed on the spot. One of them was dismembered, torn to pieces,” said a man from the village who was close to the deceased.
The victims of the junta shelling in Par Hat include Ma Htwe Yi (42 years old), Ma Win Thandar (36 years old) and Ma Mo Kham Oo (16 years old). The villages buried them today (17 May).
In addition, a one-and-a-half-year-old toddler suffered a head injury and four other villagers were injured by the shelling. They were given medical treatment by the Mandalay – People’s Defense Force (MDY-PDF), according to locals.
“The house owner wasn’t hit because he was out to pay wages to the workers. But the displaced people living in the house were all hit. After the burial, everyone fled the village. Five people were injured and six houses were destroyed,” the local man added.
Currently, over 400 displaced people from Par Hat village are hiding in makeshift tents in fields between Thone Se and Tha Pyay Toe villages as junta troops continue to fire artillery.
This makes it difficult for the displaced people to access food and shelter, according to the displaced people from Nawnghkio.
“Some of those who fled today were only able to take one pyi of rice with them. All of them depend on daily wages, so it’s difficult for them to get food. The children and women are suffering from skin problems such as heat rash. Some also have diarrhea, but they don’t even have medicines to take,” said a displaced woman from Nawnghkio.
People assisting the displaced people in Nawnghkio Township are also dwindling. Around 1,000 displaced people are currently being housed in the monasteries in the villages of Inn Waing, Chay Myit Pin, Bant Bwe, Kone Gyi, Kone Thar and Loi Tawng.
According to aid workers, more than 2,000 displaced people who have fled to Nawnghkio Township and Pyin Oo Lwin town have also not yet been able to return to their homes.
Meanwhile, junta troops stationed in Shwe Nyaung Pin and Bant Bwe villages in Nawnghkio Township continue to fire shells daily at Thone Se, Hsam Ma Hse and Kyu Inn villages.
On the night of 10 May, two people, including a woman, were killed and four others were seriously injured in Thonetau village, locals reported.
After losing the Tha Yet Kone outpost on the Shan-Mandalay border, the military junta carried out up to 43 airstrikes during the clashes with the Mandalay-PDF.
In a statement released on 8 May, the resistance group claimed that the junta had used poison gas bombs in the airstrikes.
Sent by Shan News,