A nine-year-old child was killed and five villagers wounded when junta troops protecting a Chinese-owned mine unleashed artillery barrages in Salingyi Township, Sagaing Region on Monday, according to residents.
A regime column comprising over 100 soldiers raided and shelled villages along the Pathein-Monywa road while protecting a convoy that was transporting chemicals for the mine. Around 7,000 residents from five villages were forced to flee the attacks by junta troops, who also detained seven residents.
The troops were stationed in Salingyi’s Don Taw village, from where they shelled surrounding villages. One shell hit a house in Pay Kone village in neighboring Yinmabin Township where around 10 civilians were seeking refuge, said the head of the Yinmabin-Salingyi multi-village strike steering committee, Ko Lwan Thu.
Kyaw Thiha, 9, a resident of Pay Kone village was killed on the spot and three women and two men were wounded by the blast.
“Kyaw Thiha’s father was also injured but his condition is not critical. My two relatives who were seeking refuge in the house were injured. All those injured are being treated in hospital,” Ko Lwan Thu told the Irrawaddy.
Residents from the five villages have sought refuge at relatives ‘ houses in other villages.
Salingyi’s three copper mines – Letpadaung, Sabetaung and Kyesintaung – are owned and operated by Chinese company Wanbao and its two subsidiaries, Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper Ltd and Myanmar Yang Tse Copper Ltd, in partnership with the military-owned Myanma Economic Holdings Ltd.
Even before the 2021 coup, the mines had long been a source of public fury for destroying the environment and seizing people’s land.
A total of 17 local strike bodies in Monywa, Salingyi and Yinmarbin townships have called on Chinese mining firms Wanbao and Yang Tse to halt their collaboration with the Myanmar junta, which is committing atrocities and destroying civilian life and property across the region.
Sagaing People Support Network, a regional aid group, said that around 20 residents have been killed by junta troops from mining companies during raids. Ko Lwan Thu said the number of residents killed since the coup may be higher.
On Tuesday, the bodies of three residents were found under the North Yamar bridge in Yinmabin Township, he said. Two of the victims were identified as men in their 40s from Lae Ngauk village who were arrested by regime troops this month.
“The identity of the other person has yet to be confirmed,” Ko Lwan Thu told the Irrawaddy.
