Junta targets villages with artillery attacks

December 7, 2023

HURFOM: In the morning of December 5th, 2023, the military check-point on the Thet Kaw – Three Pagoda Pass Road in Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State was hit by an aerial bomb.

In response, the 315th artillery regiment based in Well Ka Lee village, targeted nearby villages with indiscriminate artillery attacks.

Artillery shells exploded near houses forcing villagers to run for their safety.

“The artillery shell dropped very close to my house. We didn’t know anything (about armed clashes) so we did nothing for our safety. After the bomb dropped, I shouted to everyone, and we all hid in a canal,” said a 60-year-old man from Thet Kaw village.

Houses in Thet Kaw and Sa Khan Gyi were damaged.

“If the artillery shelling continues like this, all the villagers will soon be killed. It’s lucky that the house hit by the artillery attack was empty. Everyone had gone to the rubber plantation that morning. There was also nobody in the nearby area. So just the roof and the wall of the houses were damaged,” said a 50-year-old man from Sa Khan Gyi village.

Earlier this year, in Sa Khan Gyi an artillery shell exploded and killed a 60-year-old woman.

“If there is indiscriminate artillery attack like this, everyone is in danger,” said one villager.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News