Shelling in Lashio kills family of three as battles continue

A shell blast at a government guest house killed a 12-year-old boy and both of his parents on Tuesday morning amid intense fighting in Lashio, northern Shan State’s largest city, locals said. The child’s father has been identified as Kyi Win, the deputy general administrator of northern Shan State’s Hseni (Hsenwi) Township. The family had been staying in Lashio since last year, when the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and its allies launched attacks on Hseni that eventually led to its capture by anti-junta forces. “When I went by to check this morning, the Kanbawza guest house roof had been completely blown off and torn to pieces. It seems the shell made a direct hit,” a resident of Lashio said. He added that Kyi Win had been killed immediately, but his wife and child died later at the hospital. Myanmar’s military council has yet to release a public statement about the incident, but posts on pro-junta propaganda Telegram channels have circulated claims that the rocket that killed the administrator and his family was fired by the MNDAA. The fighting in Lashio’s urban wards on Wednesday was a continuation of clashes that broke out the previous day around the Myanmar army’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 507 base near the city’s Ward 5, Lashio residents said. They added that forces stationed inside the city provided near-constant artillery support to the junta troops defending the LIB 507 base. The military also repeatedly conducted airstrikes during the clashes despite heavy rain, dropping bombs near the LIB 507 base as well as in Ho Peik village on the northern outskirts of the city. The airstrikes on Ho Peik Village reportedly resulted in civilian casualties and the destruction of homes, although aid workers and villagers said the number of casualties and extent of the damage were unconfirmed. "Yesterday, they were firing both artillery and small arms all day long. The planes came to attack so frequently I couldn't even count the number of times,” a man living in Lashio said on Wednesday. “They were mainly targeting the area around (LIB) 507.” On Wednesday, gunfire was heard near LIB 507, with junta troops in the town providing artillery support. The sounds of fighting subsided in the afternoon, according to Yan, an MNDAA official. Several locals said MNDAA-led forces were closing in on Lashio from all sides: near Ward 5 in the south and east, near Ho Peik in the north, and near Nar Ma Khaw village in the west. Fortifications have reportedly been set up by the junta forces inside the town, including the troops of the LIB 507 and Infantry Battalion 68 bases as well as those stationed at the Northeastern Regional Military Command headquarters and the city hall. At least two-thirds of Lashio’s civilian residents have fled the town since clashes resumed there on July 3. Those who remained are facing food shortages and high prices. Around 1,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Lashio’s urban wards and nearby villages are sheltering in monasteries inside the town. Hundreds have gone to the Kanmein Monastery in Ward 12 alone, according to volunteers assisting the IDPs. Clashes have continued in northern Shan State despite the announcement of a ceasefire by the MNDAA and its ally the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), intended to last from July 15 to 18. The groups’ statements said that although they planned to observe the ceasefire, they would fight back if attacked. The MNDAA and TNLA are both participants in the second phase of the Operation 1027 offensive, which resumed on June 25. Since the end of June, the MNDAA, TNLA, and allied forces have captured the town of Nawnghkio, northern Shan State and continue to fight against junta forces in northern Shan State’s Kyaukme, Mongmit, and Lashio townships as well as Mandalay Region’s Madaya, Singu, and Mogok townships.

Shelling in Lashio kills family of three as battles continue

A junta-appointed administrator from another northern Shan State town was killed along with his wife and 12-year-old son amid ongoing fierce clashes between the military and anti-regime fighters for control of Lashio

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