At least three civilians, including a child, have been killed and five injured by Myanmar junta bombardment amid intense fighting with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in northern Shan State and neighboring Mandalay Region since September 18.
Residents said two people, including a five-year-old, sustained injuries in indiscriminate junta shelling in Nyaung Kone village in Mogoke Township, Mandalay Region, on Wednesday.
“A five-year-old boy died of bleeding from leg injuries on the way while he was taken to Kyaukme hospital on Wednesday,” said a representative from the Nam Hkone volunteer group.
The patients were admitted to the Kyaukme hospital after they were denied access to Mogoke, a 45-minute drive from the village.
“The child could have been saved at Mogoke hospital,” said a Kyaukme volunteer.
The Shwe Phee Myay news agency and TNLA reported that another two villagers died in junta bombardments on Nyaung Kone between Monday and Wednesday.
Two Nyaung Kone villagers were injured by junta shelling on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, more than 100 Nyaung Kone families are sheltering in monasteries in Mogoke town, a villager said.
Sources told The Irrawaddy on Friday that at least five villages in Mogoke Township had emptied amid fighting this week.
The TNLA, the armed wing of the Palaung State Liberation Front, reported four clashes near Nyaung Kone, Kone San and Hpyu Yaung villages in Mogoke on Tuesday when junta Infantry Battalions 102, 104 and 88 advanced into TNLA Brigade 2 territory.
Junta bombardment injured two Zheng Hsar villagers, including a monk, in Muse Township near the Chinese border on Wednesday, residents said.
Muse volunteers said more than 60 people from Zheng Hsar village are taking refuge at the Ho Bar monastery in Muse town.
Thousands of villagers have been displaced by ongoing fighting in Muse Township since late August.
The TNLA claimed that junta troops suffered heavy casualties during seven clashes in Kutkai, Mogoke and Muse townships on Tuesday.
A total of 56 clashes between the TNLA and junta infantry have been reported in upper Mandalay Region and northern Shan State since July 23, according to the Palaung armed group.
