Last week, junta forces set fire to over 30 houses in La Tu, an ethnic Kayan village in Pekon Township, southern Shan State.

“Although I don’t have exact numbers, I can say that almost all the houses were torched by soldiers,” said an officer from the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), a civilian resistance group that fought back against the regime since June. Some houses have been burnt to the ground, others are damaged but still standing.

He said the Burma Army (BA) was camped in the area and that everyone had already fled.

The KNDF and other resistance groups such as the Karenni Army and the Pekon People’s Defence Force fought with BA troops in the Hkawng Ei village tract from 2 to 9 November. Over 10,000 people from 14 villages affected by the violence have still not been able to return to their homes.

The Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Pekon town, well known in the region, was damaged by shelling from BA on 9 November.

In Karenni State, libraries were opened in two IDP camps in eastern Demawso Township.

”Our youth need knowledge, not just from fighting the regime, but from real books,” said Maw Sue Myar of the Karenni Students Fellowship Yangon (KSFY), which launched the libraries.

”The first duty of a revolution is to be educated.”

Maw Sue Myar said they needed more books, but during the political crisis it was difficult to bring them to the camps.

KSFY named the libraries Maw Lee Ro, which means ”dawn” in the Karenni language, she said, explaining that they want to open more libraries in the other camps in the state.

The KSFY was founded by Karenni youth studying in Yangon.

At the same time, other organisations have opened schools in several camps to educate conflict-affected children.