The five-year-old girl (left) shot dead on the night of December 6 and Khin Myo Chit, six, (right) shot dead in March by regime forces.

By THE IRRAWADDY 

The number of children killed by Myanmar’s military regime has risen to at least 100, following the fatal shooting of a five-year-old girl on Monday night by junta forces in Mandalay.

Local residents said the girl was shot in the head when regime soldiers fired random shots in her neighbourhood in Mandalay’s Chanmyathazi Township. The indiscriminate shooting came after a bomb attack on the Aung Tharyar ward administration office around 8pm on Monday.

“We live near the ward administration office. We heard an explosion first, then gunshots. A five-year-old girl from the nearby betel stand was shot dead. They also fired shots at people near the scene. People had to rush into their houses and turn off their lights,” a local resident told The Irrawaddy.

Junta soldiers guarding the ward administration office fired randomly after two men on a motorbike threw a bomb into the building.

Residents living close to the scene reported junta troops shouting, “If you want democracy, stay under military rule” as they opened fire.

The five-year-old was the third child in Chanmyathazi Township to be killed by junta soldiers since the military’s February 1 coup. In March, Khin Myo Chit, six, was shot dead while sitting on her father’s lap during a regime raid on her home. The same month, Tun Tun Aung, 14, was fatally shot in the chest by soldiers when he left his house to fetch water while helping his mother with household chores.

At least six children were killed by regime forces last month. A 17-year-old was shot dead by junta troops after going outside to watch a military convoy passing through Myaung in Sagaing Region.

Wai Thu Aung, 16, from Magwe Region was shot dead while playing a game in his village with other young people. Another youth was beaten and arrested.

The parallel National Unity Government’s Ministry of Women, Youths and Children Affairs reported that 98 children, ranging in age from just one to ten-years-old, had been killed by junta forces as of November 17.

Original Post: The Irrawaddy