Fighting has been going on in Karen’s Kyainseikgyi Township between the military council and the KNLA joint forces in recent days, with the junta arresting civilians and using them as human shields, Kyainseikgyi’s People’s Administration Team said in its statement.

The military column that invaded the KNU Brigade 6 of Kyainseikgyi township arrested civilians and used them as porters and human shields, so the revolutionary forces had to leave some areas to prevent the people from being harmed.

However, a clash between the military council and the revolutionary forces took place on the other side of the village, and there were casualties on the junta side, the Administration Team reported.

In addition, the military column shot and killed six civilians, ransacked homes and shops, stole some valuables, and destroyed items, and the regime troops set fire to a gate of the KNU forces that they had retreated because they did not want to harm the public.

At present, the public has left their homes and fled to other townships and villages as IDPs. There are more than 20 villages where villagers have fled, and the number is likely to increase, according to the People’s Administration of KyainseikgyiTownship.

As a result of the fighting in Kyainseikgyi Township, over 16,000 local residents from over 20 villages have fled, including around 2,000 children under the age of five, according to the data collected by the People’s Administration Team of Kyainseikgyi Township.