Around 40 internally displaced people (IDPs) were killed or injured in a junta airstrike near Nawngping Village Tract in Kyaukme Township, northern Shan State.
Following intense ground clashes with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the junta dropped a 500-pound bomb on Mizzimarama Monastery in Pintee Village, Nawngping Village Tract, at around 11:00 am. on August 20. The monastery, which sheltered many IDPs who had fled Naungcho (Nawnghkio) Township in northern Shan State, saw around 40 people killed or injured in the bombing.
“The monastery was bombed, and Pintee Village was also hit by multiple rockets fired from Naungcho. There were many dead and injured after the monastery was hit, and a lot of IDPs were there at the time. Some of the bodies were so badly damaged they couldn’t even be recovered, and some of the injured lost their legs. As far as we know, around 20 people were killed and another 20 injured. It’s a truly horrific situation,” an IDP in Nawngping Village Tract told Shan Herald.
The junta also dropped a 500-pound bomb on the Lokepar Village police station in Nawngping, where Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) troops were stationed. The Shan Herald is still investigating the extent of the damage.
“On August 19, a school in Pintein Village and another site were bombed. Then on August 20, 500-pound bombs hit the monastery in Pintee Village and the Lokepar Village police station. It’s really worrying for those who chose to stay in the village instead of fleeing. The situation is horrifying. When the gunfire got too close, some IDPs had to escape to Namhankeit Village in Kyaukme Township,” said a woman from Nawngping.
Currently, junta columns moving from Naungcho toward Kyaukme are engaged in fierce clashes with the TNLA near Htantabin Village, locals report.
In addition, junta troops advancing from Yatsauk (Lawksawk) Town in Shan State have entered and occupied villages along the Nawngping–Upper Yeywar Road, confining the locals and leaving them trapped, unable to flee.
According to Khit Thit media, a convoy of junta troops has departed Pyin Oo Lwin Town in Mandalay Region heading toward Naungcho Town, and locals suggested that the fighting could soon spread to TNLA-controlled Kyaukme Town.
