Continued artillery shelling by military council troops since 20 March in Mon State’s Kyaikto Township has displaced more than 2,000 people from Hngetpyawtaw and Zeepyaung village tracts and other neighboring villages.
They are suffering from food shortages as it is difficult for donors to reach them, locals reported.
“Since 20 March they have been firing artillery almost every night. Phone lines have been cut. The area is like a shooting range for them. Some people have lost their lives because the junta forces have fired artillery indiscriminately. The displaced people have difficulties because the aid workers don’t dare to enter the area. I’m not sure if they are allowed to help the displaced, but it would not be possible to go there if they have anything to do with the People’s Defense Forces (PDF),” a local resident told the Karen Information Center (KIC).
In addition, two residents were killed and two wounded when the Kyaikto-based Light Infantry Division (44) and subordinate battalions shelled the villages with artillery on 16 and 20 March, according to a 20 March statement by the Karen National Union (KNU).
“Right now, there are no donors. They have to rely on safe villages for their food. Sometimes, when the artillery fire is quiet, some of us try to get to our villages. But we can’t live there,” said one of the displaced people about the situation.
Also on 8 March, two children – seven and 14 years old – were killed and residents were forced to flee their homes when artillery shells from regime forces hit Kyonemein village in Kawthlaing village tract, Thaton Township, according to KNU’s Thaton District’s statement on 9 March.
The Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) estimates that 130,000 people have been displaced in KNU-controlled Thaton District since the military coup.
Sent by KIC.