Most of local residents remain displaced by the ongoing fighting between the military council and revolutionary forces in Kawlin Township in the upper Sagaing Region. The number of IDPs has exceeded 25,000 and is increasingly rising, according to local residents.
A displaced local said: ÒThe people have fled to the villages where their relatives live. I don’t know all the names of the villages. There are many villages in the west of Kha Mauk Taung. The people from those villages have fled to safety.”
When the military council retook Kawlin, which was captured by the National Unity Government (NUG) since early February, the residents from the town and nearby villages in Kawlin fled to the villages ten miles from the town.
Due to the ongoing fighting in Kawlin, the local residents from the town and more than 25 villages have fled to safety. Now the total number of IDPs has exceeded over 25,000, a local resident said.
ÒThe total number of IDPs is more than 25,000 because a village has at least 1,000-2,000 IDPs. The total number of IDPs has reached 20,000 when the IDPs are from around ten villages. The displaced from the town are not included in the list,” the local resident said.
The revolutionary forces said that 80 percent of the town had been destroyed due to the burning of downtown wards during the military council’s recapture of Kawlin.
Until today since 23 February, the revolutionary forces have been attacking the military camp stationed in Kyauktan village in Kawlin Township, according to local residents.
Sent by Say Kaung Kham (Shanni voice)