Blog Elements – Page 15

Ta’ang Women’s Organization

Last night, October 20, Mongngawt Township, controlled by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (PSLF/TNLA), was reportedly targeted by airstrikes.

At 8 p.m., the Mongngawt Myoma Market was airstrike bombed by the Terror military council, killing 2 locals, injuring 2 others, and burning down at least 10 houses and 5 shops, according to a local man from Mongngawt.

“It wasn’t a police station that was hit, it was in the market, it was raining last night, and people were just trying to put out the fire. The market caught fire, and 2 people were killed, 2 were injured, and houses were also damaged,” he told TWO.

Two women, 29-year-old Thura Rein and 54-year-old Daw Lin Lin, who were standing at the market, died of burns. The injured were 19-year-old Wai Yan Zaw, who was hit in the left thigh, and 53-year-old U Mona, who was injured in the head and abdomen.

Similarly, at around 12 noon on October 19, an airstrike bomb was dropped near the monastery in Loi Pein Village, Mong Ngao Township, damaging the monastery shelter and the monastery building.

On October 8, two 500-pound bombs and four rocket-propelled grenades were dropped on Manlon and Talon Wards, killing two people, injuring one man and one woman, and damaging 18 houses.”

Source : TWO

The Myanmar military junta has escalated its aerial attacks in Shan State, carrying out airstrikes on at least four townships — Mongkut (Mogok), Namtu, Hsipaw, Mantong, and Namhsan — during the first week of October. The strikes resulted in civilian casualties and widespread damage, according to reports from locals and the Ta’ang (Palaung) National Liberation Army (TNLA).

In Mongkut (Mogok), a junta aircraft dropped bombs on the western part of the town near the Shan–Mandalay border on October 1, injuring two civilians. Residents said the airstrike hit the road leading to Yay Htwet Gyi. The same area was previously bombed on September 16.

A damaged house in Hsipaw following a junta airstrike.

In Namtu, four displaced persons were killed and at least five others injured when the military council bombed Ward 8 on October 2. Many of the victims were families displaced from Kyaukme and Nawng Ping. The TNLA confirmed it was the first airstrike on Namtu since the group seized control of the town. On the same morning, junta jets also attacked the TNLA’s Infantry Battalion (130) camp in nearby Mantong Township.

In Hsipaw, junta aircraft launched multiple strikes between October 2 and 4. Bombs hit the Kumadra Hotel in San Hpeik village, a former police station in Manhe village, and later that night, a monastery, a school, and several homes in Zat Su ward. TNLA reports said four bombs dropped on October 4 damaged 13 houses, Basic Education High School (2), and the Banda Monastery in Kyaung Su village.

In Namhsan, a junta jet bombed Zei Kon Huong village around noon on October 4, killing two children — Maung Zay Yar Aung (10) and Maung Htun Myo Aung (13) — and injuring nine others, including six children.

A damaged house in Namhsan following a junta airstrike

A political activist from northern Shan State said the renewed air and ground offensives are tied to the junta’s plan to hold elections on December 28. “The military has reportedly retaken Kyaukme and is now preparing to advance on Hsipaw, Namtu, Manton, Namkham, Kutkai, and Hsenwi,” he told SHAN.

Observers note that the recent wave of airstrikes marks one of the most concentrated aerial campaigns in Shan State since Operation 1027, as the junta seeks to regain control of key towns ahead of the planned election.

Shan News