Kachin rebels on Monday said three civilians were killed and six wounded in the first attack by Myanmar forces on their northern stronghold, as fighting escalates in the country’s last active civil war.
Three shells landed in “the heart of Laiza” town, the Kachin Independence Army’s base near the Chinese border, early on Monday, said Colonel James Lum Dau, spokesman for the KIA’s political wing.
“This is the first time they have directly bombarded Laiza,” he said.
Lum Dau said the dead included a 15-year-old boy and a 76-year-old man.
The government was unable to be immediately reached for comment.
Witnesses in the town confirmed it had been directly hit. “I have seen two shells fall in the city, killing three civilian residents,” Kachin aid worker La Rip said.
“People are scared. At the moment it has stopped, but I’m afraid the shelling will continue, they are not targeting only military targets.”
