Eight people were killed when the Burma army’s Military Operation Command no-21 (MOC-21), based in Bhamo town, indiscriminately fired artillery shells into four civilian villages in Bhamo Township of Kachin State. The dead included four children under the age of 10, according to local sources.
“MOC-21 launched shells into the areas surrounding Bhamo town. As far as I know, the shelling killed three children and two women,” a Bhamo resident told KNG.
The man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said that MOC-21 fired artillery shells both day and night, hitting Moe Sein Kyun, Maing Kar, Kam Ni and Sin Kin villages in Bhamo Township.
Those killed by the shelling include a one-year old baby from Moe Sein Kyun village, two women and three children under 10 from Kam Ni village, a 30-year old woman from Maing Kar village, and a 57-year old woman from Sin Kin village.
On 7 March, the Kachin Independence Army and allied forces launched coordinated attacks on Burma army camps around Laiza and along the Myitkyina–Bhamo highway. Following these attacks, the Burma army has shot dead and arrest civilians in nearby towns and villages.
Local people said that the Burma army shot dead at least 10 civilians in Bhamo’s Ashay Thazi ward, 2-mile Aung Tha ward, Hante ward, 3-mille village, and circle road.
“There are many free funeral service volunteer teams in Bhamo town, and the Burma army told some of them to collect the dead bodies. The soldiers told the volunteers not to look at the faces of the deceased or take their photos,” the local man told KNG.
Since 7 March, the Burma army has shut down MPT phone service in Bhamo town.
