Local residents report that entire villages in Nyaung Shwe Township, Shan State, have been forced to flee due to daily artillery shelling by military junta troops.
Civilians are fleeing to safety as the junta troops and PNO (Pa-O National Organization) militia continue daily artillery bombardments of villages in the tense combat zone at the border of Nyaung Shwe, Pinlaung, and Pekon, according to locals.
The displaced residents come from the villages of Nan Toke, Eain Mu, Nyaung Lay Pin, Yae Pu, and Hpa Yar Taung Nwe Nwet, with entire village populations having to flee, according to residents of Nyaung Shwe Township.
“There haven’t been any battles on the ground these days. People are fleeing because of the repeated artillery shelling. About four or five villages have fled. We don’t know the exact population affected,” said a woman from Inn San Kar village tract in Nyaung Shwe Township.
Among those fleeing, some have managed to bring some food supplies, while others have had to escape with just the clothes on their backs, she added.
According to locals, the junta and PNO forces have been indiscriminately firing artillery into villages since early January.
A resident further explained that the junta and PNO had previously banned the use of water routes, preventing locals from escaping. Only recently, as military tensions escalated, have people been allowed to use water routes for evacuation.
“They had forbidden the use of the San Kar water route before. They threatened to shoot anyone who tried. On 8 February, they ordered residents to leave, saying it was their only chance. People fled by boat that same day,” the resident said.
According to a statement by the Human Rights of Inle Region, the military council and PNO forces conducted 54 artillery attacks in January alone, killing 3 civilians and injuring 14 others.
In addition, from 5 to 10 February, three more civilians were killed and six wounded due to ongoing artillery attacks by the military junta troops.
Sent by Shan News.
