September 27th, 2022
The incursion of military council troops into villages along the border of Kawlin and Kanbalu townships in Sagaing Region has reportedly forced more than 10,000 people to flee to neighboring villages that were considered safe.
Residents of Kanbalu said the junta army advanced in two columns of troops and conducted military activities along the border between the two townships, prompting residents to flee to safer locations out of fear.
“They [junta troops] are now in Kanbalu Township. This morning they moved on to Kawlin. From there I heard that they have gone to Taungboethla and Zeehpyukone villages. What is certain is that many innocent civilians have been forced to flee their homes in Kawlin,” local residents said.
Military regime’s soldiers fired artillery indiscriminately after clashing with [resistance fighters] in Kanbalu township on August 23rd, a Kanbalu resident said.
“After the fighting near Aungchanthar village, they shelled neighboring villages in the area with MI -35 helicopters and conducted clearance operations. They also fired with MI-17 helicopters and later the junta forces in the area were reinforced with more troops,” said the resident.
Moreover, the military regime advanced from Kawlin to Kanbalu in two military columns this month, the Kawlin resident added.
“They [junta troops] have a base camp in Koetaungboet village. They have established a new camp in the village. From there, they have branched out into two columns. These columns consist of almost 150 soldiers – one has over 50 and the other has over 80. When they started to advance, the villages on their route had to be evacuated. The residents had to move to the villages that were a little further away from theirs,” he said.
The resident added that more than 10,000 people were displaced from 13 villages along the border between Kanbalu and Kawlin.
“About 13 villages in southern Kawlin Township had to flee. They had to flee to neighboring villages a little further from theirs. We have to provide for their livelihood ourselves. We solve the difficulty through donations. We ask for donations on our own. Some ask for donations on the street. Some villages also help the displaced people, while some people give some of their donations. This is the way we deal with the situation. We have no external donations,” said one of the displaced residents.
On September 12th, clashes broke out between junta troops and local guerrilla resistance forces near Ahyoetaung village, killing ten members of the resistance and two civilians were also killed by the junta soldiers.
Following the fighting, regime troops again entered the Koetaungboet area and arrested more than 20 residents. Although the military council has released the residents, they continue to shell nearby villages with artillery and maintain a presence in the villages, keeping tensions between the two sides high, locals reported.
Sent by NMG.