Myanmar junta artillery and airstrikes have killed at least 21 civilians in Hsipaw Township, northern Shan State, this month, according to the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).
On Tuesday morning, a Y-12 transport plane reportedly dropped at least 50 bombs on Hsipaw town and a fighter jet bombed the town later that day.
A Shan civil society group member said: “The junta cannot reinforce Hsipaw and bombs the town instead. It is inhumane. Civilians are the victims.”
Two men were killed in Tuesday’s airstrikes, two other residents were injured and two schools were damaged, according to the TNLA.
The TNLA, a member of Brotherhood Alliance along with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Arakan Army, said junta artillery and airstrikes had killed at least 21 civilians and injured 59 others, including 10 children, this month.
The Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) on Tuesday reported that junta bombardment of Hsipaw had killed at least 19 civilians from July 19 to August 25, damaging over 100 buildings, including near Chinese oil and gas pipelines.
On August 10, junta shelling killed five civilians and injured four. A man was killed in Na Loi village and a woman was killed in Kyaung Suu village. Both villages are beside the key pipelines.
Since June 25, the TNLA and its allies have seized Nawnghkio, Mongmit and Kyaukse towns in northern Shan State and Mogoke Township in Mandalay Region. The MNDAA and its allies have captured Lashio, the capital of northern Shan.
TNLA-led forces are attempting to seize full control of Hsipaw Township, where Infantry Battalion 23 and Light Infantry battalions 503 and 504 are based.
Hsipaw is a junta hub on the Dokthawaddy River and on the main road from Mandalay to the Chinese border. Junta troops are trapped in their bases in the town surrounded by the TNLA, according to sources.
