Seven-year-old girl killed in junta shelling near school in Sagaing

A seven-year-old girl was killed and three others were injured on Monday when junta forces shelled a resistance-held area in Sagaing Region’s Chaung-U Township, local sources said. Sources told Myanmar Now that the military regime conducted five rounds of shelling near a school in the village of Hman Cho, around three miles south of the junta-controlled town of Chaung U. “May Shin Thant, a Grade 1 student, was killed on the spot after shrapnel struck her under the right armpit,” a resistance fighter from Chaung U Township said. Three other students were left with minor injuries when artillery shelling exploded near a temporary school at 10am. “Parents had gone to pick up their children when shells exploded near the school,” said a man from Hman Cho village. “Unfortunately, the girl was hit by shrapnel near her house on the way home.” Local sources say that the attack was carried out by junta troops stationed at the administrative office in Chaung-U, which has repeatedly fired artillery at nearby villages. The sources said there was no fighting in the area when the shelling occurred. Hman Cho, home to at least 1,000 families, was also targeted by a junta warplane on May 12, killing at least two women and injuring five others. At least three villages near the junta-controlled town have been displaced due to the frequent military shelling. “We returned to our village just half a month ago to clean our houses, but we still have to sleep in safer places at night as our village is frequently targeted by junta shelling,” a man from Hman Cho said. Local resistance forces operate in areas near Hman Cho. The town of Chaung-U is situated approximately 22 miles south of the junta’s Northwestern Regional Military Command headquarters, which is located on the outskirts of Monywa town. The military regime continues to carry out airstrikes and bombardments using paramotors, as well as frequent shelling with long-range heavy weapons. Nwe Khway village, located about four miles northeast of Chaung-U, was also bombed by a junta paramotor on Monday, despite no reported clashes in the area, according to resistance forces. Several houses were damaged in the attack, but no other details were available at the time of reporting. Last week, a junta military column advanced toward Kin Mon Taw, a village held by pro-junta militias, about four miles southwest of Chaung-U as part of a supply transport mission, local resistance sources said. “We weren't able to intercept their supply convoy as the area along the highway was inundated with floodwater,” a resistance fighter from Chaung-U Township told Myanmar Now. “But, they fired heavy weapons along the way before entering the Kin Taw Mon village.”

Seven-year-old girl killed in junta shelling near school in Sagaing

The strike hit near a school in Hman Cho village, an area regularly targeted by regime forces despite no recent fighting

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