By Kantarawaddy Times
Sunday, September 18, 2022
Indiscriminate shelling by the Burma Army (BA) killed two children under the age of 10 and two men over the age of 50 and wounded at least 13 people who had sought refuge in a Buddhist pagoda in Mobye after fleeing violence in Pekon Township in southern Shan State.
A local source, requesting anonymity, told Kantarawaddy Times that a shell struck Mwe Taw pagoda on the morning of 16 September, killing the four people and wounding the others.
There was no fighting in the area where the shelling took place that day or on Thursday. From 8 to 12 September, however, the regime was battling with resistance fighters in Mobye. The latter warned the civilian population that violence might break out at any time and advised them to seek safety. After the fighting started, the junta shut off connectivity in the town.
Another anonymous source said he couldn’t say how many shells the regime had fired at the town on Friday, but that shelling occurred once or twice an hour and that the pagoda was bombed at 6am. At press time, volunteers were still rescuing the injured from the building.
During the clashes, Karenni fighters reportedly captured military weapons from the BA.