Eight children killed or injured in two days of shelling, UXO blasts in Hpakant

By Admin 16 Feb 2026

DMG Newsroom

16 February 2026, Hpakant, Kachin State

At least eight children were killed or injured by heavy artillery fire and unexploded ordnance (UXO) over two days in Hpakant Township, Kachin State, on February 13 and 14.

On February 14, four children and their guardians were injured when an artillery shell reportedly fired by junta forces struck a house near a Chinese language school in Lonekhin Village.

“A heavy weapon fired by the Myanmar military hit the house while the family was having dinner. Both children and adults were injured. We heard the injuries are quite severe,” a Hpakant resident said.

The shelling occurred as revolutionary forces were raiding the Lonekhin Police Station on the same day. The military reportedly fired heavy weapons into residential areas during the clashes.

A day earlier, on February 13, four children from an Arakanese migrant worker family in Taungpyo Village were injured when a piece of unexploded ordnance they had found detonated.

The explosion killed six-year-old Maung Nay Win Tun instantly. Three other children namely, Maung Chit Ko Lin, 9; Maung Min Thurein, 3; and Ma Nan Khaing Soe, 5, sustained serious injuries. Ma Nan Khaing Soe was transferred to Yangon via Myitkyina for emergency medical treatment.

“The children found a 40mm grenade in a stream and brought it back to play with. They were hitting it against a rock when it exploded. One child died and three were injured. Because of the severity of the wounds, one had to be sent to Yangon for surgery,” a local resident said.

According to the UNICEF, more than 750 children were killed or injured in Myanmar due to armed conflict in 2024 alone.

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) provides special protection for children during armed conflict and prohibits the targeting of civilian infrastructure or its use for military purposes.

“Whenever fighting breaks out, the military shells residential neighbourhoods. There are also many unexploded shells left near villages. Children are killed either while playing with these remnants or when shells hit their homes. This has become a recurring tragedy in Hpakant,” another resident said.

Fighting has intensified across Hpakant since early February. On February 14, a coalition force led by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) raided the Lonekhin Police Station and attacked a nearby tactical base using heavy and small arms.

The renewed clashes have displaced thousands of residents. Locals familiar with the security situation have warned people to avoid unnecessary travel within Hpakant Township due to ongoing instability.