Fighting and shoot to kill orders by the junta have trapped about 200 villagers in Kinmunchon Village in Tantabin Township, Bago Region (East), since the beginning of August 2024.
From 5 to 9 August, fierce fighting between the junta and resistance forces along with heavy artillery fire in the Zayatgyi area of Tantabin Township, where Kinmunchon Village is located, caused over 2,000 residents to flee to safer areas. The villages they fled from included: Kinmunchon, Doetan, PuKanKwe, NatYwar, HnitTantKu, and ThuHtayKone.
During the fighting in the Zayatgyi area the junta closed the Zayatgyi to Kinmunchon road and commanded the soldiers there to shoot and kill anyone they see who is not a junta soldier, including civilians.
Because the junta soldiers on the road were firing at anyone using the road, 200 villagers who were trying to flee Kinmunchon Village had to return to their homes. They are currently trapped in the village and unable to leave.
A resident said to the Karen Information Center (KIC): "Groups that returned to the village to gather supplies are now trapped. The military has set up checkpoints and imposed martial law with shoot-on-sight orders, making it impossible for them to leave. Major clashes are taking place around Kinmunchon and ShanSu villages, preventing any travel. Attempts to bring back [the people trapped in the village] are futile. While Zayatgyi town remains relatively calm, over 2,000 villagers from villages in the Zayatgyi area are fleeing.”
Since the beginning of August, residents from Doetan Village and nearby villages, also in the Zayatgyi area of Tantabin Township, had been sheltering from the fighting in nearby monasteries. On 9 August, heavy junta artillery fire killed three civilians people in the Zayatgyi area, according to local media reports. This prompted many people to flee from the monasteries, according to a local person.
Currently, there are more than 2,000 displaced people (IDPs) in and around the Zayatgyi area who urgently need food and basic supplies.
A local organisation helping displaced people in the area warned people displaced from their villages, especially those from Kinmunchon Village, not to try to return home because of the fighting in the area.
Previously, In February 2024, there was fierce fighting between resistance forces and the junta in Zayatgyi area. During that time, the junta launched numerous airstrikes in the area causing significant civilian casualties and damage to properties.
