Local residents report that two internally displaced children were killed and the Lonkhin Field Bridge, which serves public transportation, was destroyed due to artillery fire by the military council forces in Hpakant Township, Kachin State. The military council entered Hpakant Township with hundreds of troops and conducted continuous artillery attacks. On the morning of May 28, they fired artillery at an IDP camp near Sai Phra, past Nam Yar, along the Hpakant road, resulting in the death of two innocent displaced children.
Furthermore, the military council forces conducted artillery strikes in the Lonkhin area on the evening of May 27, which resulted in the destruction of the Lonkhin Field Bridge after it was hit by artillery fire. According to a local resident, military council troops from the Lonkhin explosive factory have already reached the field police station. The situation in Hpakant and Lonkhin areas has become critical, with villages at risk of destruction if fighting breaks out, forcing local residents to flee as internally displaced persons.
The military council forces have been launching offensive operations into Hpakant Township since late April with no fewer than three columns of troops in large numbers. These military operations have forced local civilians to abandon their homes and flee, resulting in civilian casualties. The military council’s artillery attacks have also destroyed public infrastructure, severely impacting the daily lives of local residents. The ongoing military operations continue to cause displacement, death, and destruction in the region, with civilians bearing the brunt of the violence perpetrated by the military council forces.
