Two civilians including a teenage boy were killed and three wounded when junta forces bombarded territory controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU) in Bago Region on Wednesday and Thursday.
Junta troops rained shells down on villages in Muu (Kyaukkyi) and Kyauktaga townships, territory under Brigade 3 of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the KNU’s armed wing.
The KNU is the country’s oldest ethnic armed group and has been fighting for greater autonomy for decades. Its KNLA and Karen National Defense Organisation have allied with local armed resistance groups to topple the military regime.
The KNU reported on Thursday that junta troops had conducted indiscriminate shelling of civilian targets for two straight days.
Paing Soe Thu, 16, died of head injuries after being hit by shrapnel on Thursday morning as junta forces bombarded Tha Min Inn Kone village.
The shelling was reportedly conducted by the regime’s Light Infantry Battalion 274 based in Kyauktaga town.
On Wednesday, a woman in her 30s was killed on the spot and three people were injured when a shell hit their house in Mway Twin village. Six-year-old Ma Chit Phone Thwe and U Tin Oo, 71, were among those injured in the attack.
Light Infantry Battalion 599 based in Tone Taw village targeted the village with three artillery rounds on Wednesday, according to the KNU.
Kyauktaga and Muu townships are located in eastern Bago, where junta troops are launching frequent artillery bombardments against civilian targets, according to the KNU.
Junta infantry has been conducting raids and heavy shelling of villages in KNU Brigade 3 territory since July.
Another six civilians were wounded by junta shelling between July 20 and 22.
Residents from 70 local villages have fled their homes, according to the Brigade 3 media relations team.
In the first week of July, the shelling killed two civilians and wounded six others.
Junta troops also detained 20 civilians from three villages between July 6 and 11.
One detainee has been released but the rest were taken to Kyauktaga police station, according to the KNU. Their fate is still unknown.
The first half of 2023 saw around 2,495 clashes in KNU territory and at least 599,400 civilians displaced, the group reported in July.
