Three killed by Myanmar junta airstrike in northern Shan’s Nawnghkio Township

Regime airstrikes killed three people, including a woman who had given birth just days earlier, in northern Shan State’s Nawnghkio Township on Friday, according to the ethnic armed group controlling the area. In a statement, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) said the junta air force hit Hsam Ma Hse, a village about 14 miles south of the town of Nawnghkio, three times, killing the woman and two men and injuring six others, including two Buddhist monks. The village, located on the road to the junta stronghold of Pyin Oo Lwin, is one of several in the area that have seen frequent clashes since last November, when the TNLA and its allies launched an offensive to capture Nawnghkio. Recent fighting has involved efforts by the TNLA and the Mandalay Region People’s Defence Force (MDY-PDF) to intercept junta reinforcements advancing from Pyin Oo Lwin towards Nawnghkio. The junta regained control of the road between the two towns in early May of this year, and has since stationed troops in a number of villages near the junction of the Pyin Oo Lwin-Nawnghkio road and the road to Mogok. The regime has also intensified its airstrikes in the area in recent weeks. On October 27, an attack on the village of Tha Pyay killed a man in his 60s, and over the next two days, a series of strikes on the village of Hokho left at least a dozen people—most of them prisoners of war—dead and around 60 others injured. According to MDY-PDF information officer Osmond, fighting between junta forces and resistance groups has been ongoing for the past two weeks, both in areas connecting Nawnghkio and Pyin Oo Lwin and within Nawnghkio Township, with the junta conducting both ground operations and airstrikes. The most intense clashes have been near the village of Gant Gaw, about four miles southwest of Hsam Ma Hse, according to a source close to the TNLA. “There is still heavy fighting around Gant Gaw. The junta probably thinks that’s where we’re based, so that may be why they are conducting so many airstrikes,” the source said. Meanwhile, the TNLA and MDY-PDF are also engaged in major battles with regime forces in Mandalay Region’s Madaya and Patheingyi townships, near the city of Mandalay. On Saturday, an airstrike on the village of Aung Tha Pyay in Patheingyi Township injured two people and killed several livestock, according to a local resident. According to another local resident, the regime has been conducting intense airstrikes in recent days on the Phayaung Taung gold mine, which it lost to resistance forces in August. “The junta troops have been trying to retake Phayaung Taung, but haven’t been able to do so. That’s why there’s continuous intense fighting with air support,” he said, adding that the regime is also pushing back on resistance efforts to advance on Mandalay.

Three killed by Myanmar junta airstrike in northern Shan’s Nawnghkio Township

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