Since the second week of March, the military council has increased its artillery shelling and airstrikes in the Karen National Union (KNU)-controlled territories of Nyaunglebin and Thaton Districts, according to the statement by the KNU (Central).
On 20 March, the military council dropped at least 20 bombs in the villages in Kyaukkyi and Shwegyin Townships in Nyaunglebin District nine times.
The bombardments wounded one civilian, destroyed five civilian houses and a primary school and displaced over 3,000 locals from 21 villages in the townships.
From March 16 to 20, the heavy shells fired by Kyaikto-based junta troops landed on Zeepyaung-3 village and Karawayseik village in Kyaikto Township in Thaton District, killing two locals and wounding two others, according to the KNU’s statement.
Following the battles between the military council troops and the revolutionary forces in Kyaukkyi Township, the military council suffered heavy casualties. The military council is conducting airstrikes in civilian villages as it wants to reinforce troops.
A local woman said: “They (military council) suffered heavy casualties. Then, the bodies of those wrapping in sheets were dumped into the river. We have to hide in the bomb shelter when a military flight arrives here. We have to hide under the tree as there is no bomb shelter. We will die when a bomb directly lands on us. Mostly, the people died due to shrapnels.”
Nanda Su, Spokesperson of the Karen Human Right Group (KHRG) told the Karen Information Center (KIC): “The military council’s increased airstrikes and artillery shelling is a blatant violation of international humanitarian laws. It is the targeted attacks on civilians by the violations of human rights.”
Due to the military’s ongoing offensive in the villages of the KNU-controlled territories, artillery shelling and airstrikes, over 500,000 locals from the KNU-controlled territories fled to safer places.
There are around 130,000 IDPs in Brigade-1 of the KNU-controlled Thaton District and over 140,000 IDPs in Brigade-3, Nyaunglebin District, according to the KHRG’s figures.
Sent by Nant Hsan Htee (KIC)