A 33-year-old woman died and three men were injured when junta troops fired heavy artillery at an internally displaced persons’ camp in Myanmar’s eastern Shan state.
A mortar shell landed on the camp near Moebye township on Monday evening, residents told RFA.
An official from the anti-junta Moebye People’s Defense Force said the woman, named Mulin, came from Don Du Ta village but fled to the camp in Kaung Hsawng village due to fighting between junta troops and PDFs.
He said troops from Pekon, 18 kilometers (11 miles) north of Moebye, were constantly shelling the camp.
“About 50 displaced people are gathered there. They come there because they can’t go anywhere in urban neighborhoods,” said the official, who didn’t want to be named for security reasons.
Locals said the three injured men were being treated at a secret clinic because it was too dangerous to take them to local hospitals. They said one man, aged 65, was seriously injured.
The previous day junta troops fired artillery on homes in Kayah state, neighboring Shan to the south.
Two women and a man were injured when a shell exploded in Loikaw township’s Loilen Lay town, according to an official of the Shwe Loikaw Charitable Association.
“The man was hit in the arm. The two women were only hit by shrapnel,” said the official who also wished to remain anonymous. “The two women have been discharged. The man is still in the hospital. None of them are in a serious condition.”
The junta has not released any information about civilian casualties caused by shelling.
RFA contacted Khun Thein Maung, junta spokesman for Shan state, and Aung Win Oo, spokesman for Kayah state, but the calls went unanswered.
More than 27,000 civilians have been killed by junta forces since the military seized power nearly two years ago, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.
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