Civilian Casualties Rise Amid Operation 1027 in Northern Shan State
By Network Media Group
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
A number of civilians have been killed or wounded by regime airstrikes, while multiple civilian properties have been destroyed since Three Brotherhoods Alliance—Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and Ta’ang National Liberation Army—launched their offensive targeting over 60 State Administration Council (SAC) outposts and camps across northern Shan State on Friday.
A woman sheltering at Kyaung Kham Buddhist monastery in Hsenwi town said that a 60-year-old man bled to death at the monastery after shrapnel from a regime shell struck him in the township sharing the same name as he was fleeing on Saturday evening, October 28.
On the same day, three villagers were wounded, and five houses were destroyed in Mang Hser in Namtu Township. There were no reported clashes in the township at that time.
On Friday, SAC’s Infantry Battalion 123 in Namphetka in Kutkai Township fired at least four shells at 7 am, killing two people, including a seven-year-old. Nang Baw, a 30-year-old woman, died later in the hospital. Shells reportedly landed in four locations of Ward 4, striking some of the homes.
A man from the Namphetka Metta Shin volunteer team told NMG that he took three adults and two children injured by the shelling to the hospital. Three of them suffered chest injuries and are hooked up to oxygen tanks.
At least five civilians died due to regime shelling in Nam Khong. “Shells struck the village when a 40-year-old man was entering his home. A shell hit his home. Although he wasn’t killed on the spot, the man died within 30 minutes,” a resident told NMG.
Two children were killed, and an adult was seriously injured when a shell landed near a house close to Sakhan Thit Kon in Namkham Township.
Since Three Brotherhoods Alliance began its operation last week, fighting has erupted in Kyaukme, Lashio, Kutkai, Hsenwi, Muse, and Namkham townships.
Thousands of villagers have been forced to seek safety due to the ongoing violence.
In Mongsee (also called Mongji), 500 villagers, mostly women, children, and the elderly, fled fighting between MNDAA and SAC troops on Friday. They are now seeking shelter in Nam Maw, Nam Hser, and Nam Wan villages in Tarmoenye Township and are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
A local woman assisting them mentioned they require basic items such as rice, cooking oil, and salt, as no one has come to donate these items. “The weather is cold now, they also need blankets,” she said.
The three villages hosting them have provided as much assistance as they can. However, one villager mentioned they won’t be able to continue helping them if the fighting persists, unless someone brings donations to their area.
