Villagers in Khin-U Township flee from their homes in the wake of regime shelling on Sunday. / The Irrawaddy
Two children were killed in separate incidents in the resistance stronghold of Sagaing Region in central Myanmar on Sunday and Monday.
Maung Chit Yin Hto from Alel Sho Village in Khin-U Township was killed after discovering an unexploded projectile on Sunday. The 12-year-old boy found the artillery shell in the woods while herding cows. He brought it back home, and the shell exploded as it fell to the ground in his village. He died immediately.
In another incident, an 8-year-old girl was killed in a junta artillery strike in Mone Hla Village in the same township on Monday. Mone Hla is the native village of Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, the archbishop of Yangon.
Around 100 junta troops belonging to the 33rd Light Infantry Division based in Sagaing came from Ye-U to Khin-U on Monday morning and fired artillery shells.
The 8-year-old girl from a Christian family, who were taking shelter under a mango tree, was fatally hit by shrapnel. Junta troops also shelled Kalone Village, forcing more than 8,000 locals from at least six villages to flee their homes.
Junta troops also carried out an air raid on Mone Hla Village, home to over 700 households, on Nov. 23 last year. Junta ground troops also raided the village the same day, killing nine residents and torching more than 100 houses and a school.
