At least three civilians were killed and seven more injured during recent fighting between junta troops and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in northern Shan State near the Myanmar-China border, residents said.
Sources said two villagers were reportedly killed and two others injured in Kutkai Township’s Nam Hpat Kar Village on Friday after heavy shelling of TNLA targets from a junta base near the village.
“Two men, one in his 30s the other in his 50s, passed away after they were hit by shrapnel. Two women also sustained injuries from the shelling. One of the patients was sent to Lashio Hospital,” a resident of the village said.
Residents of the village were still in mourning after a 15-year-old girl was killed and three other teens were wounded by junta shelling on Wednesday.
“They should avoid fighting near our village because only civilians bear the brunt of shelling and no one takes the responsibility,” a resident of the village told The Irrawaddy.
Nam Hpat Kar village residents have started digging bomb shelters by hand because they have been frequently hit by indiscriminate shelling, they said.
They also said their livelihoods have been disrupted by the ongoing fighting.
Junta Light Infantry Battalion 123, which is stationed near the village, escalated shelling of TNLA targets after fighting intensified with the ethnic army in late August.
“They fired at least 20 rounds of artillery shells within an hour on Friday,” a resident of the village said.
Friday’s shelling landed in residential areas near the junta base, village residents said.
The TNLA accused junta troops of indiscriminate shelling on Friday.
Junta forces previously conducted heavy shelling over civilian homes when fighting resumed with TNLA troops in late July.
At least four clashes broke out between junta troops in Muse and Kutkai townships on Friday, according to the TNLA.
A toll gate guarded by junta troops in Muse trade zone was ambushed by TNLA troops on Friday.
Fighting continued near Mount Loi Tay Mein, and in Hseng Hkwang and Sei Lant villages, in Muse Township. Junta troops heavily shelled the area.
Junta warplanes also carried out aerial bombings over TNLA targets on Mount Loi Tay Mein on August 31.
Neither side has announced casualty numbers.
Nearly 1,000 residents from five villages remain displaced in Muse as fighting continues in the area, according to local volunteers. Most of them are taking shelter at monasteries and the homes of relatives in Muse and Nam Kham townships.
At least 24 clashes broke out in northern Shan state since late July, according to the TNLA.
Two people were killed and five more were wounded by indiscriminate shelling by junta troops in Kutkai Township in late July.
