Three students injured in junta artillery strike in Taungoo

By Admin 15 Jun 2023

DMG Newsroom
15 June 2023, Sittwe

A basic education high school in Htolwiwa Village in Bago Region’s Taungoo was forced to close after three female students were wounded by an artillery shell that landed near the school.

The shell landed near the hostel of the boarding students at around 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Two ninth graders sustained minor injuries in their heads, and the third student badly injured her right hand, according to villagers.

“We heard five artillery shells and one of them landed near the hostel of female students. All those injured are ninth graders,” said a villager.

The wounded students were sent to a village clinic, where they remain under observation.

The school will be closed for at least a week due to ongoing security concerns, according to teachers.

“We had a meeting and decided to close the school for a week. The school will be reopened when stability returns,” said a teacher who asked for anonymity.

Residents said the shells were fired from a junta outpost in the Shasaebo neighbourhood of Taungoo, describing the artillery fire as unprovoked.

DMG was unable to obtain comment from Bago Region security and border affairs minister Colonel Aung Thaung Htike or junta spokesman Major-General Zaw Min Tun.

Approximately 2,000 students are studying at the Htolwiwa Village school, and locals have expressed concerns as it was the first time an artillery shell landed on its campus.

Clashes broke out between junta troops and Karen National Liberation Army-led allied forces in April in Taungoo, Htantabin and Yadashe townships, and have continued into this month.

Htolwiwa Village is located in an area controlled by the Karen National Union’s Brigade 2.