November 22, 2022
The commander of the 44th Light Infantry Division has convinced people who have fled the Lay Kay Kaw area in Karen State since December last year because of the war to return to their homes, local IDPs said.
IDPs from five wards of Lay Kay Kaw and Pahikalaw, Hteemeiwahkhee and Yathaytgu villages living in makeshift camps along the Thaungyin River were persuaded by the commander of the 44th LID, stationed at Swel Taw Ah Mrauk Gone in Lay Kay Kaw, said a woman from Hteemeiwahkhee IDP camp.
“The commander of LID 44 asked the villagers to return to their homes and said the junta soldiers would help the returning IDPs clear bushes and mines. He told them that the ongoing war was not between the military and KNU forces and that Karen families could return to their homes. He said that the junta army is fighting the groups that show the three-finger salute and urged the villagers to reject the groups that show the three-finger salute,” the woman told KIC.
The woman added that they have always been afraid of the junta army and do not trust their persuasive speeches. Since their houses were looted and valuables stolen by the regime forces, they would have to start their lives all over again.
Nearly 10,000 people from more than 20 villages along the Hpalu-Sonseemyaing-Waw Lay Road section in southern Myawaddy Township have fled the war for nearly 11 months. As military tensions between the two sides in the region ease, some residents of Hpalu, Min Let Pan, Pahikalaw and Hteemeiwahkhee villages have begun to return to their homes, according to locals.
However, with military council troops still carrying out checks, arresting people and extorting money from them, village leaders are planning to introduce ID cards to help residents travel to the town centre, said an IDP from Lay Kay Kaw.
“We plan to return to Lay Kay Kaw in December. Some residents of Hteemeiwahkhee village have already started returning. There are plans to issue ID cards to those who have lived in the town since it was founded. I have heard that residents will be relocated to Ward 1 first. Those who have recently moved in from out of town can’t return yet, but they will be allowed at a later date. There is still fighting in the upper part of the area. There are [unexploded] landmines in Lay Kay Kaw. They have to clear the mines first,” an IDP close to the village administration told KIC.
Although the military regime has been conducting offensives along the Lay Kay Kaw- Thaybawboe-Waw Lay Road section for the past 11 months, it has been unable to gain control of areas near the Thai-Myanmar border due to counterattacks by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA); junta forces have been forced to defend their positions in the face of guerrilla attacks by KNLA combined forces, sources from KNLA joint operations areas said.
Sent by KIC.