The junta’s air force bombed the town of Natthankwin in Nyaunglebin District, an area controlled by Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 3, on the morning of 6 June, damaging the hospital and some houses and forcing more than 10,000 residents to flee to safety, according to sources on the ground.
The regime’s airstrike came after the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and joint forces raided the Natthankwin military base and police station near Yaetwinkonegyi village.
“The fighting started after a heavy shell was dropped by a drone at 4 am. They first opened fire on the police station near the bridge. At 7 am, a plane flew in and dropped bombs in the town and shots were also fired from above. The bridge over the Sittaung River between Kyaukkyi and Natthankwin was also sabotaged,” he said.
In addition to the damage caused to the hospital and some houses, the fighting has left more than the 100,000 displaced residents helpless, locals said.
A source close to the KNU said the joint forces destroyed the bridge connecting Kyaukkyi and Natthankwin during the fighting because it was on the route used by the Myanmar army to move reinforcement troops.
“I heard that they destroyed the bridge to cut off the junta’s reinforcements. The bridge was only damaged so badly that cars could not pass through it, but it was still usable for people. I just heard that they have not yet managed to capture the Natthankwin police station. There are casualties on both sides,” he told the Karen Information Center.
In a similar incident, a junta column of about 50 soldiers entered Yaetwinkonegyi village on 5 June and took positions in the village. The intrusion by the junta troops prompted residents of Yaetwinkonegyi and surrounding villages to seek safety elsewhere, locals said.
Sent by KIC.