Two six-year-old boys in Chin State and one 14-year-old girl in Rakhine State have been killed by Myanmar junta shells, according to residents.
Regime troops based at a hill in Yay Soe Chaung village in Rathedaung Township, Rakhine State, shelled Pyain Taw village yesterday morning and Ma Nyein Nyein San, 14, was killed at her house, residents said.
A villager said four shells were fired at the village although there had been no fighting nearby.
“Three shells landed outside the village. The frightened villagers ran from their houses, including the girl. The last shell killed her,” he said.
Pyain Taw villagers said Arakan Army (AA) troops were closing routes to the Yay Soe Chaung outpost, prompting troops to fire shells at random every day.
Villagers were not able to hold a funeral for Ma Nyein Nyein San because they fear more shelling if junta troops see a crowd in the village, said residents.
A shell also hit Bon Lun village in Hakha Township, Chin State, on Wednesday afternoon.
James Siang Za Uk and Henry Bawi Za Lian, both six, were coming home from school when they were killed by a shell and a six-year-old girl was injured, according to a village pastor.
“The injured child is in Hakha hospital in critical condition. There was no fighting and no armed groups around the village,” the pastor told The Irrawaddy.
Fighting with the AA is escalating in Rakhine State and regime troops in Minbya Township in the state were reportedly continuously shelling villages this week.