A 5-year-old boy living in Ahwungyi village in Thaton Township, Mon State, was killed by an artillery shell fired by the Military Council.

On March 18th around 3:30 PM, the 314th Artillery Battalion based in Thaton fired towards the Shweyaungpya village tract, causing shells to fall into Ahwungyi village.

While fishing with his parents in a pond in Ahwungyi village, Saw Pho Thingyan, a 5-year-old boy, sustained serious injuries when he was hit by shrapnel from an artillery shell, which ultimately led to his death.

“ The child was fishing with his parents in a pond near the village when an artillery shell landed in their vicinity, and unfortunately, shrapnel struck the child’s head, resulting in his death”, a villager said.

In a separate incident, on the night of March 17th, the Military Council’s 24th Infantry Battalion and 402nd Artillery Battalion fired both artillery and small arms at the Kawthlaing village tract, resulting in the injury of Saw Win Naing Htwe, a 21-year-old carpenter working at the monastery in Kyonhmein village, Karen National Union (KNU-Thaton District) announced.

On March 8th at approximately 7:30 AM, Kyonhmein village was struck by shelling from the Thaton-based 24th Infantry Battalion. As a result of the attack, two children lost their lives, and two villagers sustained severe injuries.

According to KNU-Thaton, the 24th Infantry Battalion of the Military Council is currently stationed near Du Yin Seik village, which is situated along the highway connecting Thaton to Hpa-An.

In addition, the 402nd Artillery Battalion has been deployed in Suinn village, located within Thaton Township, while the 314th Artillery Battalion is stationed in Zeewun village within the Shweyaungpya village tract of Thaton Similarly, at least 3 civilians were injured in January due to shelling by Thaton-based Military Council battalions.

According to local sources, since the coup, Military Council battalions based in Thaton have frequently launched shelling attacks on nearby residential villages, resulting in the deaths of at least 10 civilians.