The regime’s forces killed at least six civilians during their offensive, which displaced tens of thousands, when they attacked resistance groups and everyone else with artillery fire in the Karenni State capital, Loikaw, and in Demawo.
“We are fleeing, but we do not know where to flee to. We can not take anything with us, we only care about our lives,” a woman who fled Mai Lon told the Kantarawady Times.
About 10,000 people from Mai Lon, Ywa Tan Shay and Pan Kan in Loikaw and some villages in Demawso Township have been affected, some of them crossing the border into Thailand.
Since Wednesday, Karenni Army (KA) and the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) have been fighting junta soldiers in Loikaw. The KNDF has urged civilians to seek safety as the fighting has now spread to the capital. Some have made it out, but others are still trapped because clashes have blocked the way out of town.
On Friday, clashes broke out between KA and the Burma Army (BA) near Huay Pu Lawng on the eastern side of the Salween River in Shardaw Township. Regime fighter jets bombed Karenni soldiers five times after they captured a BA camp near the border in the morning. Sixteen houses were destroyed in Dor Poe Si, Ngar Mai and Chauk Mai villages in Demawso Township.
