A woman was injured after an artillery shell fired by the military junta landed in Yebyu Township, Tanintharyi Region, according to local residents.
At around 5:30 a.m. on September 3, revolutionary forces attacked a military junta column advancing from Kywetalin toward Yar Phue village. The two sides then clashed for about 30 minutes.
After the fighting, the military junta fired two artillery shells toward Kywetalin and Yar Phue villages. One shell landed and exploded at the cemetery outside Kywetalin village, while the other struck a house near the entrance to Yar Phue village, injuring a 38-year-old woman in the hand with shrapnel.
“We had been hearing gunfire from the Kywetalin side since early morning. After the shooting stopped, they fired two artillery shells indiscriminately. One landed at the cemetery outside Kywetalin village, and the other hit a house at the entrance to Yar Phue village. That is why a woman was hit by some shrapnel in her hand. It was not a serious injury,” a male resident of Yebyu said.
The woman injured by the shelling was receiving medical treatment at a clinic in the village, he added.
The military junta has also reinforced its troops in the Yar Phue and Kywetalin areas, with hundreds of additional soldiers reportedly deployed during the final week of August, despite no fighting being reported at the time.
“They reinforced their troops about two weeks ago. Initially, there were around 100 troops in the Yar Phue and Kywetalin areas. After the reinforcement, there could now be more than 200. That is only the number they have openly deployed and does not include the columns moving around in the forest. There has been no fighting either. We do not know why they have reinforced their troops,” the resident said.
In Yebyu Township, the military group has also continued efforts to control the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for its own interests while allegedly committing killings, torture and the burning and destruction of civilian homes, according to a Fortify Rights report.
