Medical staff and volunteers were freed a day after armed forces stormed a clinic run by the Catholic Church. Eighteen people from the Garuna clinic, run by Christ The King Church, were released from a detention centre in Loikaw, the capital of Karenni State, on 23 November.

After they were arrested by the armed forces, the regime's mouthpiece, Myawaddy TV, published false information that the clinic was part of the Civil Disobedience Movement, started after the coup by health workers who opposed the dictatorship, and claimed that the authorities had charged them with incitement under Article 505 (a) of Burma's Penal Code.

A male source associated with the clinic in Loikaw's Nawng Yar ward said the Burma Army (BA) accused the clinic of operating illegally despite having a licence since 1998. ''People from different backgrounds and religions can receive medical care at the Garuna clinic. It is here for everyone. We will do our best to reopen it,'' he told NMG.

"We were really concerned about their welfare after Myawaddy TV said they were charged with Article 505 (a), but in fact no one was charged.'' After the raid, Catholic leaders and leaders of ethnic armed organisations negotiated the release of the detainees.

''The Garuna clinic is providing an important medical service to the people here. Locals fear the clinic will not be reopened,'' said another source. All the patients who were treated at the clinic have been taken to Loikaw Public Hospital.

Since the coup, the armed forces have attacked many churches and people's homes and arrested health workers. Soldiers have also occupied religious buildings during offensives against civilians and resistance groups in the state.