Four civilians, including a small child, were killed by junta shelling over the course of two days in Sagaing Region’s Khin-U Township earlier this week, according to local resistance sources.
Regime troops based in Ye-U fired multiple rounds across the Mu River into western Khin-U Township at around 2pm on Wednesday, killing two people and injuring another two in the village of Thet Pay.
One of the victims, a six-year-old boy, was killed instantly, while a 47-year-old man died of his injuries as he was receiving medical attention, according to the information officer of the anti-junta Khin-U Township People’s Defence Team.
“The boy was bathing when a shell landed right on top of him. He died on the spot,” said the information officer.
The next day, the military fired four more rounds in the direction of Mu Thar, a village about 3km north of Thet Pay. Two of the shells fell inside the village, killing a man and a woman and injuring three other civilians.
“They’ve been firing heavy artillery at villages around Ye-U every day since July 16. Residents have had to flee their homes,” said the information officer.
According to locals, a regime column of around 100 troops has been raiding villages in the area since last weekend. On Thursday morning, the column was seen in the village of Mu Thar Kone.
A resident of Ye-U told Myanmar Now that the shelling appeared to be in support of junta forces on the ground, clearing a path for them as they go from village to village.
“At least 10 villages along the border of Ye-U and Depayin townships have been emptied,” said the local.
A total of around 4,000 people are believed to have fled the regime’s advances in the area, including residents of the villages of Si Gyi, Pauk Tha, Chaung Pauk and Zein Zun in southern Ye-U Township and Nyaung Hla, Thayet Taw, Mu Khan Dwin, and Letyetkone in Depayin Township.
On Saturday, a man sheltering in a camp for internally displaced persons in the village of Inpat in western Khin-U Township was killed when a shell landed inside the camp. Another man was seriously injured.
At least three junta columns have been carrying out attacks in western Khin-U Township since late last year, displacing as many as 50,000 local civilians.
