A child was killed and two adult civilians wounded when Myanmar junta forces bombarded a town in Pekon Township, southern Shan State with artillery on Monday amid heavy clashes with resistance fighters, according to the Mobye People’s Defense Force.
Fighting broke out in Mobye at 10.30 am when Mobye PDF combined with the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) and Urban Revolution Front (URF) to defend the town against a regime raid.
The town was then struck by over 100 shells fired by junta artillery battalion 422 from outside the town, said Mobye PDF.
The bombardment killed a 10-year-old child and left two civilians with injuries while also destroying two houses by fire and damaging other buildings.
A Mobye PDF spokesperson informed local media that the town’s phone lines and electricity supply had been cut off after one artillery round hit a power line.
“Many residents fled to nearby villages while others are still in the town,” the resistance spokesman told Karenni’s Voice, a local media outlet.
The fighting stopped at 5:30 pm the same day, leaving at least 10 regime troops dead, the Mobye PDF said. Resistance forces had also seized a weapon from the invading troops, it added.
The Irrawaddy was unable to independently confirm the military casualties.
Two resistance fighters were also wounded in the clashes.
The local PDF group has urged residents to avoid the clash sites as tensions between regime forces and local resistance groups remain high in the town.
People have also been urged to avoid the local stretch of the Loikaw-Pinlaung highway due to the potential for clashes.
The junta is conducting artillery and air strikes on the town and nearby villages sheltering displaced people without any provocation, according to resistance groups and local rescue teams.
