Mawlamyine, April (5)
The civilian casualties have been on the rise in Mon State due to the military regime’s attacks in February and March, when the state of emergency was extended, according to data collected by Than Lwin Times.
Nearly 20 civilians were killed and more than 40 were injured by the military council’s attacks in Mon State’s Kyaikto, Belin, THaton and Ye during these two months, according to the data compiled by Than Lwin Times.
Civilians were shot and killed by the junta troops’ unprovoked shootings, explosions in villages, indiscriminate firing, and violations of the curfew.
Among them, the residents of Ye Township, where martial law has been declared, were shot and killed mainly because of traveling beyond the curfew time, and the townships in Thathon District also saw an increase in the number of civilian deaths due to being hit by heavy weapons.
Ko Aye Min Tun, an official for PDF-Thaton District, told Than Lwin Times that the regime troops opened fire on villages whenever their military bases were attacked, causing more civilian casualties or deaths.
On March 18, a six-year-old boy was killed on the spot when No. 314 Zeewon Artillery, based in Belin Township, fired at Ah Win Gyi village in Shwe Yaung Pya village tract, with artillery shell.
Almost 70 percent of the civilian deaths were women and children, and more than 30 percent were men. But there could be much more on the ground.
Nai Nagar, a spokesman for the Mon State Revolutionary Force (MSRF), said that the state saw more civilian casualties, but the political parties that claim to represent the Mon people and the Mon state have not been held accountable.
Nai Nagar said that the military council is in a high state of fear and is firing at everything in sight because of the increasing number of soldiers killed in the recent fighting in Mon State.
There have been at least 20 clashes between the junta army and the combined force of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) in Mon State in three months, in which civilians have been injured or killed.
The Assistance Association for the Political Prisoners (AAPP) reported on April 3 that nearly 60 civilians have been killed in Mon State in more than two years since the military seized power.
News – Than Lwin Times
Photo – Shwe Hintha Charitable Society
Picture – a person killed by a bullet wound near Aung Tharyar village in Ye
Thanlwintimes