August 18th, 2021
The terrorist military council’s troops have taken some villagers from the east of Demawso Township in Karenni State, hostages, said a humanitarian focal person from the Karenni State Consultative Council (KSCC).
“Villagers are not allowed to go outside the villages and are taken hostages. It is a very worrying situation. The people are not allowed to enter the villages,” he said.
A fighting took place between the terrorist military council’s troops and a combined force of the Karenni Army (KA) and the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), in the east of Demawso Township, at around 6 pm on August 13rd, forcing more than 2,000 locals to flee to safer places.
The military council abducted five locals who returned to home to take rations on August 14th. Local witnesses said the army beat the detainees and used them as human shields.
“Almost all people have to flee to safer places. The army told the remaining villagers not to go outside the village. There are military camps near the villages. It is found that the army is creating human walls. We may face many difficulties as the IDPs cannot bring rations along with them,” he said.
As fighting may erupt at any time, we are concerned about the safety of locals, a shortage of food and medicines and the outbreak of COVID-19. A drop in the rice stocks is common in most of the villages this period. IDPs could bring a few rations and also get some aid from locals. In the long-run, the situation is worrying. It is found that most of IDPs have no difficulty in their accommodation. I am very concerned about their health,” he added.
A spokesperson of the KNDF said: “We would like to call on the people to be cautious about their security due to the army’s deployment and offensives in Phruso and Demawso Townships.”
They (IDPs) are not in a position to go back home. The military council has intensified its offensives, deployment and area clearance operations in the east of Demawso Township.
So far, the total number of IDPs in Karenni State has exceeded more than 100,000 IDPs. Some people are still in detention.
by Maw Oo Myar (The Kantarawaddy Times)