A woman and a man were killed, and at least four houses were destroyed by the military council’s drone attacks and shelling in the villages in Kyaukkyi Township in Nyaunglebin District, within Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade-3 Territory, locals said.
The junta carried out these attacks without any ground fighting, locals claimed.
At around noon on 8 July, junta soldiers from Yangon-Mandalay Road dropped drone bombs on Taung Khin village-tract. The attacks resulted in the death of a woman and a man in Lay Ein Su village, and their houses were burned down, locals said.
“Fighting took place only in the summer. Since then, there has been no fighting. The junta dropped bombs on the villages claiming the presence of the KNU. All those who were sowing paddy seeds fled from the fields as around six drones appeared yesterday. One man and one woman from Lay Ein Su died,” a local man from Kyaukkyi said.
At around 11 am on 7 July, the heavy shells fired by Light Infantry Battalion-264 and 439 based in Pein Za Loke hit and destroyed a high school in Taung Khin village, one house in Lay Ein Su village and one house in Ywar Ma Gyi village, according to the KNU source.
The military stationed in Pein Za Loke often fires heavy artillery shells towards nearby villages. Despite the constant threat to their lives and property, residents are unable to relocate for extended periods and have to remain vigilant in their villages.
A local man of Kyaukkyi said, “The junta fires heavy shells every day. Just yesterday, one or two shells hit Taung Khin basic education high school, resulting in the collapse of school roofs. Lay Ein Su village is very close to Pein Za Loke-based military force. The people from that village have to stay updated with the news. They return home when the situation is stable. They flee only when they receive warnings.”
After 2021, the offensive by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and allied force have intensified its military operations in Nyaunglebin District. The junta’s attacks on villages have led to the displacement of nearly 500,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) across the entire district, according to the KNU’s record.
The IDPs are facing accommodation difficulties following an incident in June, where troops from the military council entered Kyaukkyi Township and set fire to the displacement sites, in the forest, said an official from the KNU Nyaunglebin District.
Sent by KIC.