Civilian death toll rises amid escalating clashes in northern Shan State capital

At least 16 civilians were killed this week as shells rained down on villages and urban wards in Lashio Township, northern Shan State after junta bases came under attack, locals and resistance sources said. Locals told Myanmar Now that they first heard multiple rounds of artillery fire from junta bases located on the outskirts of Lashio at around 10pm on Tuesday, as junta forces clashed with the the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), also known colloquially as the Kokang Army. Shells began to land inside the town before dawn the next morning, residents claimed. “Shells fired from outside of town hit junta bases at the town perimeter at around 4am,” a Lashio resident said on Wednesday. Lashio, northern Shan State’s largest city and administrative capital, is the location of the junta’s Northeastern Regional Military Command (RMC) headquarters, which appeared to be one of the MNDAA’s targets. Mortar shells detonated within the boundary of the RMC compound, not far from the Lashio Airport, according to one of the town’s residents. “At least two areas in town—Ward 1 and the golf course—were struck by shells fired from outside of the town at around 4am,” another Lashio local said. Lashio residents and volunteer rescue workers said at least 16 people were killed in Lashio Township on Wednesday and Thursday, four of whom were teenagers. “A man, two women and three teenagers were killed instantly when their house was hit by artillery shells. The deceased were all members of the same family,” a Lashio resident said on Wednesday. A social welfare volunteer claimed another shell hit a monastery compound in Ward 4 at around 4:30pm Wednesday afternoon, killing three people including a 13-year-old and injuring four including two monks. Locals and anti-junta resistance sources said fighting also erupted on Wednesday in villages south of the city such as Kone Nyaung, Man Hsan Yae Kya, Mong Tin, Nam Pawng, and Nawng Mun, all located 30 miles or less from Lashio Township’s urban centre. The TNLA’s information team claimed that a woman had been killed and two men had been injured by artillery shells in Nam Pawng on Wednesday. A man was also killed by a shell the same day in Khar Shi village, some six miles south of Lashio, according to Lashio-based social welfare volunteers. The death toll rose as the bombardments continued the next day, with locals claiming that at least five more civilians were killed in the city on Thursday. “At least three men were killed in Ward 11 and two women died on the spot in Ward 9 this morning,” a Lashio resident said on Thursday. The Kokang Army has not released any information about the clashes in Lashio Township at the time of reporting, but members of anti-junta resistance groups confirmed local civilians’ claims that the anti-junta forces fighting in Lashio Township included members of the MNDAA. “The Kokang Army is taking part in the second wave of the anti-regime operation,” Dr. Soe Thuya Zaw of the Mandalay People’s Defense Force said on Wednesday. “The MNDAA has gone on the offensive today in Lashio, where the regime’s Northeastern Military Command is headquartered,” he added. The MNDAA is one of three members of the Brotherhood Alliance of ethnic armed organisations. The group’s fellow Brotherhood Alliance member, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) resumed an offensive against the Myanmar military in late June, announcing that a ceasefire in effect since January of this year had ended due to the junta’s violations of its terms. Although the TNLA did not announce the resumption of the Brotherhood Alliance’s offensive until June 25, clashes had already been reported between the MNDAA and military forces near Pang Hkam village, Lashio Township on June 23. While the TNLA claimed that the junta’s shelling was the cause of the civilian casualties in Lashio Township, pro-junta channels on Telegram alleged that anti-regime forces were responsible. Myanmar Now was unable to verify either claim independently. Lashio residents said military authorities shut down Lashio’s airport and stopped movement through the town gates during the fighting on Wednesday, preventing thousands of civilians inside the town from seeking safety elsewhere. Locals reported that the gates reopened on Thursday. “Many people have made preparations to leave because we’re frightened by the deadly shelling,” a civilian from Lashio in her 20s said on Wednesday. “But even if we’re permitted to leave the town, we don’t know where to go.” Since resuming the Brotherhood Alliance’s offensive, the TNLA claims to have captured more than 30 junta outposts with support from its allies and has taken effective control of the towns of Nawnghkio and Kyaukme in northern Shan State as well as parts of western Mogok Township in Mandalay Region.

Civilian death toll rises amid escalating clashes in northern Shan State capital

Locals claimed barrages of shells killed more than a dozen people in Lashio Township on Wednesday and Thursday after the Kokang Army, a Brotherhood Alliance member, reportedly initiated attacks on military outposts

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