Mortar shells injure four civilians, damage two homes in Tanintharyi Region’s Palaw Twsp

By DMG 10 Dec 2022

DMG Newsroom
10 December 2022, Palaw, Tanintharyi Region

Four local people were injured and two homes were damaged after mortar shells landed and exploded in Lekku Village, part of Palaw Township in Tanintharyi Region, on the morning of December 9, according to villagers.

U Su Kan Nge, in his 50s, and his wife Daw Ma Bel Au, 46, sustained shrapnel wounds to their heads and arms, and U Naung Ni and U Phoe Wa, both in their 50s, suffered injuries to their legs.

The four were wounded in the artillery shelling after a clash broke out between the military and a coalition led by Karen National Defense Organisation (KNDO), an armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), near Palaw town on Friday morning, said a resident of Lekku Village who did not want to be named for security reasons.

“The military indiscriminately fired at least 20 mortar shells into the village during the fighting,” the unnamed Lekku villager added.

The injured were admitted to Palaw Hospital and of them, the couple’s conditions are considered life-threatening.

“The couple are said to be in critical condition and they are unconscious,” said an official from a local social organisation in Lekku Village.

Fierce fighting erupted between the military and anti-regime forces led by the KNDO on Friday after a bomb went off at a security gate entrance to the military’s Light Infantry Battalion No. 285 and a police outpost near the town hall was attacked by gunmen.

The military regime has deployed a large number of soldiers in Palaw and is conducting tight security checks on locals, according to residents.

The KNDO has warned locals to exercise caution as tensions remain between the military and anti-regime forces near several villages in Palaw Township.