The military opened fire on an aid vehicle carrying food and medicine for civilians displaced by the offensives in Demawso Township, Karenni State.

“The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) has increased in eastern Demawso Township. We have a shortage of food and medicine, so a volunteer went to Loikaw to get supplies,” said a local.

Everything went smoothly until the volunteer returned from the Karenni State capital, he said. The vehicle was fired upon as it turned a corner near 6-Mile village in Demawso Township on the morning of 17 September.

”The bullets penetrated the windscreen, luckily leaving the driver unhurt,” the source told Kantarawaddy Times.

Burma Army (BA) soldiers stationed between Dor Poe Si and 6-Mile have previously fired on travellers without provocation, the local source said, where fighting with allied groups, Karenni Army and Karenni Nationalities Defence Force occurs daily.

The conflict has affected about 5,000 civilians from the area who need emergency assistance. At the same time, the number of transmissions in IDP camps has increased. Volunteer health workers have identified 45 cases as of 12 September.

The source told Kantarawaddy Times that health workers who left their posts to join the protest movement and volunteers are doing their best to care for those infected with the virus, while others are trying to secure more food and medicine for all.

”We have to look out for each other in the IDP camps,” he said, explaining that there are three jungle camps in eastern Demawso Township.

Meanwhile, BA has tightened security in Loikaw, arresting many people at military checkpoints in the town in recent days.