On the night of May 13th, four people were killed and three were injured when a shell fired by junta troops exploded near the family gathering where they were sitting and talking in Ywa Lay Kone Village in Htantapin Township, Bago Region, the residents of the village said.

The Karen National Union (KNU) also reported that the shell fired by the 73rd Infantry Battalion under the military junta exploded between the house and the cowshed of 84-year-old Kyaw Sein, who lives in Ywa Lay Kone Village. As a result, four family members, including Kyaw Sein, were killed due to being hit by the shell.

“Family members were sitting and talking at night. There, the shell fell directly between the house and the cowshed. Two of them died on the spot. The rest were taken to the hospital. One died on the way. At the hospital, one more died. Four died, three were injured, and one cow died,” a Ywa Lay Lone villager told MPA.

“They are shooting day and night; every house must dig bomb shelters. When we hear something, we run to hide. Their families also tried to run and hide. But they don’t have enough time. Shells usually don’t fall inside the village but often fall outside the village,” he explained.

According to a woman in Ywa Lay Kone Village, junta soldiers have been shelling for no reason without any fighting day by day, and the residents have also prepared bomb shelters.

On May 5th, the junta carried out three airstrikes in Bekhalay Village, Taung Ngoo District, Than Taung Gyi Township, killing one child and injuring three others, according to a KNU (Central) statement.