Ongoing fighting in Shwegyin Township in Nyaunglebin District, the area controlled by Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 3, has displaced about 5000 people, according to locals.
The fighting, which has been ongoing since the second week of March, has displaced about 5,000 residents in Shwegyin Township, said Saw L Star, an official with the Karen Social Affairs Group in Nyaunglebin Township.
“Until this morning, we could still hear the sound of gunfire and heavy weapons. The fighting has been going on for at least five days or a week. We could hear them in between every now and then,” Saw L Star said on 14 March.
He went on to say that the fighting has forced local residents to seek safety.
“In Innbalar village, there are more than 300 households. So if the whole village had to flee, there would be more than 2000 people, men and women. In Chaungkyoe village, there are 70 households. So more than 1,000 people would have had to flee. So there would have been about 5,000 people forced to flee,” he continued.
Another local, who declined to be named, said residents from 12 villages, including Innbalar, Chaungkyoe, Puzunaing, Letkaukwa, Pyinyae, Moekho, Innkyaik, Innbawah and Waingkyun, were forced to flee their villages.
“Some have fled around Shwegyin. Some have sought refuge in monasteries and with their relatives. They’re from about 12 villages. I think there are more than 1,000 people,” he said.
According to reports, some residents have fled to downtown Shwegyi, while others have fled to Kyauk Mhaw Pagoda in Hpayargyi village of Mabee village tract.
Those who have fled to downtown Shwegyin and Kyauk Hmaw Pagoda are currently taking shelter in the religious buildings, and essentials such as food are being provided by the locals or shared among the displaced people themselves.
Some of the people were forced to flee not because of the fighting near their villages, but because they were fired upon with artillery by the military council troops without any armed confrontation, or because regime troops have violently entered their villages or carried out arbitrary arrests and killings, according to the locals.
In light of this situation, human rights activists and local residents are calling for international aid organizations to provide more assistance to displaced people and to monitor and effectively punish the actions of the military council.
Sent by NMG.
