Four civilians killed by Myanmar junta shelling in Sagaing Region

Shelling by regime forces killed four civilians in Sagaing Region’s Yinmabin Township on Wednesday, according to locals and resistance sources. The incident occurred late in the day, when junta troops stationed at a base in the village of Aung Zeya Myothit fired on Htan Taw Gyi, another village located some three miles away. Three of the victims were killed instantly, while the fourth died the following morning, said a spokesperson for a local resistance team operating under the command of the National Unity Government’s Ministry of Defence. At least five others were injured, two of them critically, he added. “It was a direct hit. One of the shells landed right in the middle of the road, about five feet away from the victims,” he said, adding that further shelling slowed efforts to evacuate the wounded. Locals say at least 3,000 people living in Htan Taw Gyi and other nearby villages have fled since the attack. The area is mostly surrounded by rice fields, leaving residents with few places to take shelter, they said. Troops stationed in Aung Zeya Myothit, a village that is home to many army veterans, routinely fire long-range artillery at neighbouring villages, according to people living in the area. Many of the villages around Aung Zeya Myothit have been largely deserted since April, when junta troops began arriving in the area in force. While some locals recently began to return, they say they now have no choice but to flee again. Yinmabin is regarded as a resistance stronghold. It is located west of the Chindwin River, opposite the Sagaing Region capital Monywa, which is also the seat of the junta’s Northwestern Regional Military Command. Since the end of July, resistance forces in Yinmabin District, which includes Yinmabin, Kani, and Pale townships, have been consolidating their forces into larger units, according to the information officer for one of the new units. “We can only attack effectively if our battalions are well-armed, well-coordinated, and well-organised,” said Ko Min, the information officer for Strategic Unit 47, which combines Yinmabin-based district battalions 27, 33, 34, 35, and 36. Yinmabin District has a total nine new strategic units, including two in the town of Yinmabin, he added. One consists of five battalions and the other is made up of four battalions.

Four civilians killed by Myanmar junta shelling in Sagaing Region

The incident in Yinmabin Township comes as local resistance forces say they are forming into large units to fight the regime

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