An artillery barrage by the Military Council resulted in the tragic deaths of two innocent children, and left two more, including one child, injured in Thaton Township of Mon State, locals said.

The casualties occurred when the Military Council fired heavy artillery into Kyon Hmein village in Thaton on the morning of March 8th.

“The Military Council began shelling Kyon Hmein village without provocation, and as a result, two innocent children tragically lost their lives on the spot due to the explosion of artillery rounds. Furthermore, one child and an adult were also injured during the attack”, a Thaton resident said.

At approximately 7:30 AM, the Military Council's 24th Infantry Battalion, stationed in Thaton, unleashed a barrage of artillery on Kyon Hmein village, according to locals.

That shelling resulted in the deaths of two young children, aged 7 and 13, while a woman in her 50s and a 9-year-old child were severely injured.

The two injured individuals were transported to a medical clinic located within the Karen National Union's (KNU) 1st Brigade area, where they received necessary medical attention.

This recent attack is not an isolated incident. In January, three individuals were wounded in Thaton when an artillery shell fired by the Military Council exploded.

Since the coup, the Thaton-based Military Council battalions have been indiscriminately shelling neighboring villages with artillery, causing severe harm to civilians.

Locals have reported that the number of civilian casualties resulting from these brutal attacks has risen to at least ten.