Regime forces killed two people and injured 12 when they fired heavy artillery at a village in Sagaing Region’s Khin-U Township early Saturday morning, according to resistance sources.
A junta column of around 100 soldiers was approaching the village of Te Su when it opened fire at around 4am, the leader of a local defence team told Myanmar Now.
“They fired three shells just before they reached the village. People were preparing to flee when one of the shells landed in the middle of a crowd,” said San Shay, the leader of a group called the Shwe Nyi Ko Force.
One of the deceased victims was a 48-year-old woman named Moe Swe, who died instantly when a piece of shrapnel hit her in the back of the head.
The other was identified as defence team member Pho Kho, 27, who was hit while helping to evacuate the village ahead of the arrival of the regime forces.
“A shell detonated near three resistance fighters as they were helping the villagers get ready to flee. One was killed, and the other two were badly injured,” said San Shay.
According to a resident of Te Su, the incident occurred near a bridge on the edge of the village.
“It’s the only bridge that goes across the creek, so there were a lot of people there,” said the villager.
The junta column that carried out the raid on Te Su had come from Myin Daung, a village near the Mu River, according to a member of Khin-U Township’s People’s Defence Team. The next day, it clashed with resistance forces near Kanthaya, a village about 10km west of the town of Khin-U, he added.
As of Monday, it was east of Khin-U, where it reportedly burned down a restaurant and three houses along the Shwebo-Myitkyina highway.
