As the junta forces shelled the villages in KNU Brigade 1, Kyaikto,  forcing  more than 3, 800 people to flee homes, the KNU-Thaton District reported on January 24.

The Shwekyin-based Infantry Battalion 598 fired three mortar shells into Winkan village in KNU-controlled Kyaikto on January 16.

The shells landed on Ko Aung Moe Oo’s shop and the homes of U Thaw Kwe and Ma Zin Mar, destroying them.

According to the KNU, as the junta force fired shells recklessly into Kyaikto, villagers from Winkan, Zeepyaung, Pyinkadoekone, and Khaywe village tract fled their homes and sought refuge.

On the other hand, the military council threatened to fire heavy weapons into the village if the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) attacked their troops, so the local residents did not dare to stay in the village.

From January 1 to 23, one man was killed and ten others were injured after being hit by the shrapnel of the heavy weapon fired by regime forces.