Thousands of villagers displaced by fighting between civilian resistance groups and the military sought refuge at Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) controlled territories, KNPP officials informed Kantarawaddy Times.

Aung San Myint, KNPP secretary 2, said since the February 1 coup over 3,000 new internally displaced persons (IDPs) have joined more than 100,000 IDPs who were already residing west of the Salween River and in the other areas along the Thai border in Karenni State.

A woman affected by the fighting told Kantarawaddy Times she is terrified to live in her home after many Burma Army (BA) soldiers arrived and surrounded her village. “We are afraid of them; they committed human rights abuses in our area. This is why we sought refuge in KNPP’s area.”

Refuge at Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) controlled territories

Aung San Myint said most of the new IDPs are elderly, women and children who need food, medicine, warm blankets and materials to make shelters.

According to Karenni Civil Society Network (KCSN), there have been 118,963 villagers displaced by fighting between BA and combined groups, People’s Defence Force (PDF) and Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), starting in May.

From July 5-18, there were 10,629 villagers affected by clashes between the military and KNPP’s military arm, the Karenni Army, and KNDF. The latter two are fighting together against the military council.

According to KCSN since the coup, there have been 82 people who died, 102 injured and 132 arrested until July 22.