People fleeing fighting in Karen State’s Kawkareik Township has led to an increase in the number of displaced people (IDPs) seeking refuge in Malamyine City, the capital of neighbouring Mon State.
Daily heavy fighting between a Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)-led coalition and the junta has been ongoing since 14 April 2025, in the northern areas of Kawkareik Township and along the section of Asia Highway 1 (AH1) connecting the towns of Kawkareik and Kyondoe.
As the fighting escalated, the junta launched airstrikes on communities in Kawkareik Township, forcing thousands of residents from 10 villages, including Kanni, Thayettaw, and Yaepu, to flee to safer areas, including Mawlamyine City.
A person assisting IDPs from Kawkareik Township arriving in Mawlamyine said that most of them are sheltering in relatives homes and monasteries and many are in urgent need of food.
He said: “Most of the IDPs who’ve arrived in Mawlamyine are staying with relatives. Right now, around 100 to 150 IDPs have gathered at a monastery in Ywarthit Ward. Their biggest need at the moment is food, and it’s hard to predict how long they’ll be displaced. This is something we really need to be aware of.”
He said that aid organisations based in Mawlamyine City are currently providing food aid to IDPs from Kawkareik Township sheltering there, but as the number of IDPs in the city continues to grow their need for food and medicine will become greater.
Other aid workers have also warned that the number of IDPs sheltering in Malamyine City is expected to rise as the fighting in and around Kawkareik Township villages intensifies due to junta attacks, airstrikes, artillery shelling and drone strikes.
Around 20 people were killed and 22 were injured in Kawkareik Township by junta airstrikes, artillery and drone attacks during the traditional Thingyan Myanmar New Year celebrations held from 13 to 16 April 2025, according to local sources who spoke to the Lwin Times.
On 19 April, the Karen National Union (KNU), the political wing of the KNLA, issued a statement advising people to avoid non-essential travel in Kawkareik Township, due to the ongoing fighting in the area.
