An interview with the spokesperson of the Karen Civilian Emergency Assistance and Relief Team about the situation of Mone and the military situation.
From 2 to 7 December, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the joint force captured the military council’s camps in Mone Township in Nyaunglebin District in Bago Region which is the Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade-3 Territory. During the battle, over 60,000 local residents from 95 villages in Mone were forced to flee their homes due to air strikes by the military council.
The Karen Information Center (KIC) interviewed the spokesperson for the Karen Civilian Emergency Assistance and Relief Team about the situation of displaced locals who are unable to return home due to the regional instability and the military situation in the region.
Q: Please tell me as much as you know about the current situation of the locals in Mone.
A: Residents near the military base still can’t return home. Those who are staying in the places that are a little far away from these military camps have returned home.
Q: Is there an organization that provide displaced locals with food?
A: Currently, the Karen Civilian Emergency Assistance and Relief Team is providing rations to the IDPs as much as it can. However, it is not enough. The major requirement is basic ration such as rice, edible oil and salt. Although there are roadblocks in the food supply section, we can use other alternative roads.
Q: Are the local residents who live in the places which are a bit far away from the military base in a position to resettle?
A: It is not that all the refugees have returned home. The people who have small-scale livestock breeding have returned home in order to safeguard their belongings.
Q: If you look at the situation of Mone as a whole, how many people are fleeing the war?
A: As for the whole town, there are about ten thousand IDPs. The 60,000 people released by the KNU include local residents living in Mone and nearby villages.
Q: Tell me about the military situation.
A: Currently, there is no offensive. However, there are ambush attacks. An ambush attack means that the two sides go beyond the designated areas and attack in the vicinity.
Q: Can the KNLA joint force still maintain the areas it has captured?
A: The army has retaken some places. The KNLA can still control some places. Light Infantry Division-599 has returned to the battalion. We can’t say exactly about the places which are being controlled by the KNLA.
Q: How do you see that the KNLA can control the entire city of Mone?
A: It is true that the KNLA captured Mone and seized the military’s arms and ammunition. However, the people are still not in a position to resettle there even after the KNLA held the town and cleared the entire area. We know that in the long run, there will be a lot of losses and damage.
Sent by KIC.