A woman was killed and two others, including a young girl, were injured when the military junta fired mortar shells into Pandikone village in Kadipu village tract, Thaton Township, Mon State. Five homes were also destroyed in the attack, according to the Karen National Union (KNU) Thaton District Office.
The shelling occurred at approximately 8:18 p.m. on May 21, when troops from the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 314 launched two 120mm mortar rounds into the village.
The mortar shells landed directly on residential homes, killing 48-year-old Naw Aye Nine on the spot, 48-year-old Naw Mee Nu, and her 11-year-old daughter Naw Khin Pa Pa Lay were both injured in the explosion.
In addition to the casualties, five houses in Pandikone village were damaged or destroyed by the mortar blasts.
The KNU condemned the attack, stating that the junta continues to deliberately target civilian villages with mortar shell and aerial bombings, even in areas where no clashes have occurred.
As a result of ongoing indiscriminate shelling and airstrikes by junta forces, tens of thousands of civilians in Thaton District have been forced to flee their homes in search of safety.
