January 20, 2023
The military has reportedly killed four civilians, including two women, in separate incidents in Magway’s Myingyan Township, Shan State’s Pinlaung Township, and Tanintharyi’s Palaw Township, according to local sources. In Myingyan Township, Magway Region, a woman was killed when the military shelled Khaungtauma Village with artillery, local residents said.
On January 19 at around 2:30 p.m., soldiers guarding a water pumping station that supplies water to Myingyan Factory No. 2 in Khaungtauma Village fired artillery shells at the village, resulting in the death of a woman from the area. Similarly, on January 16, a civilian was killed in Kayah State’s Moebye Township after the military shelled the village of Kaungsong, according to Moebye’s People’s Defense Force (PDF). At around 8:15 p.m. on January 16, the military fired artillery shells at civilians displaced by the conflict in Kaungsong Village, leading to the death of Daw Mu Lin, 33, from Dooneduthan Village, who was sheltering in the village. The military also reportedly killed a man in Shan State’s Pinlaung Township on January 7. He was driving near a coal mine when the military, in cooperation with the Pa-O National Organization (PNO), attacked, killing the driver and wounding a farmer, locals said. At least 50 troops from the junta and the PNO were involved in the attack, which occurred along the Aung Pan-Tekyit-Pinlaung road. On January 16, in Tanintharyi Region’s Palaw Township, a man identified as Ko Lin Lin Wai, 33, was killed when junta troops entered Shwehpone Village and slit his throat. The soldiers reportedly stole his gold necklace. Ko Lin Lin Wai was a fisherman who had just returned from sea when the incident occurred, according to local reports. Additionally, in Pinlaung Township, Shan State, another civilian was killed when junta forces fired artillery near a temple. A farmer was also wounded in the attack and later transported to a hospital by the junta’s soldiers.