Fear among locals amid regime’s shelling and deaths

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Myanmar army troops stationed at Peinhnetaw village in Thaton Township, Thaton District – an area controlled by Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 1 – fired artillery shells at villages on 14 May, causing deaths and injuries and heightening fear among residents, local residents reported.

A 45-year-old man was fatally hit by shrapnel that day, while a five-year-old child and a 49-year-old woman were wounded when one of the eight artillery shells fired by regime forces hit a house in Tharthanakone village, local sources said.

Similarly, a man was injured in the abdomen when one of the shells hit Peinhnetaw (Upper) village. Damage to houses from the shelling was also reported in Ahlelywar, Wanbeinn and Htee Nyar Lu villages.

A local resident said that fear among the population had increased following the deaths, injuries, and destruction of houses caused by the regime’s ongoing artillery shelling.

“We no longer feel safe amid the artillery fire. Some families have left the village to stay with their relatives in safer places,” the resident told the Karen Information Center (KIC).

Padoh Saw Aye Naing, KNU district secretary in Thaton, said the Myanmar army responded with artillery fire after joint forces of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) carried out two drone attacks on the junta base in Peinhnetaw on 14 May.

“Some of the villages have fled to safer places. Those who stayed in the village can no longer take care of their businesses because of the insecurity, and their living conditions have become difficult as a result. We’re still in the process of determining the number of displaced people,” he said.

According to local resistance forces, a joint KNLA force had attacked the regime’s position in Peinhnetaw with drones on 22 March.

Regime artillery fire displaced more than 7,000 people from villages in Bilin Township in April.

On 15-16 May, six clashes occurred between military council troops and joint resistance forces, killing at least 20 junta soldiers, according to local sources.

Sent by KIC.

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