August 30th, 2022
Military council has cut off electricity in Myittar ward in Kyaukkyi in Bago Region, which is predominantly inhabited by Karen people, since August 24th, according to residents of the ward.
Of the seven wards in Kyaukkyi, only Myittar ward, which has a majority of Karen population, has been affected by the power cuts for no apparent reason, a resident said.
“The power has been off since the night of August 24th. It’s not been turned back on yet. Other wards are now being supplied with electricity. When we asked, they just said it was done on orders from above. The night the electricity was cut off, military council soldiers broke through the fence of an uninhabited house and spent the night there,” he told Karen Information Center (KIC).
Because of the power cuts, school children in Myittar ward are having difficulty studying at night, insecurity is increasing, and households are having difficulty living and cooking without electricity, he added.
“It’s not safe for us in the dark. Military council soldiers also patrol the ward at night. No one knows what they do in the ward at night. We have to sleep in fear. Every time a dog barks at night, we have to get up and check,” adds the resident.
There are seven wards in Kyaukkyi, namely Bago, Taungootan, Theintan, Sartan, Katkyi and Myittar. In Myittar, there are more than 400 households, most of whom are Karen. The other wards are predominantly inhabited by Bamar and some other ethnic minorities. The residents of the ward believe that the current power cut is being carried out intentionally and in a racially discriminatory manner.
“I believe that they [the military council soldiers] are also affected by the current situation. They’re also shooting aimlessly at villages. They seem to think that there’s some connection between these people [resistance members] and the Karen people in our ward. Just now they entered our ward and checked the guest lists. But they don’t check other wards,” said a resident of Myittar district.
In recent months, clashes have occurred in nearby villages, including Kyaukkyi, between military council troops and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), which is under the Karen National Union-KNU.
In the fighting, the military council attacked with air support, and in some villages fighting continues to this day, according to IDPs.
Residents of Myittar ward are also concerned about incursions due to the power outages, and some local sources report burglaries and thefts in villages from which residents have been forced to flee.
Sent by KIC.