The junta and the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) faction led by Commander Bo Bi, active in villages north of Kawkareik Township in Karen State, have been abducting civilians, physically beating them, and using sun exposure as a form of torture.

On October 10, a joint column of junta and Bo Bi-led DKBA forces was ambushed by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and its allies near Nankawtay Village. The following day, junta-DKBA troops entered the village, forcibly detaining, torturing, and beating several villagers, according to resistance sources.

“The junta column was moving toward the Aukbote area when it got ambushed in Naungmi. After that, the soldiers took out their anger on the people in nearby Nankawtay Village. On October 11, they entered the village and arrested about 10 villagers, some of whom were beaten. They even forced some to kneel under the scorching sun. The rest of the villagers weren’t allowed to leave. The junta troops have been holding everyone hostage, worried that the resistance might launch drone strikes while they’re in the village,” a KNLA source said.

The Bo Bi-led DKBA faction has also raided homes and imposed strict movement restrictions on villagers in Myapataing, Nankawtay, Naungmi, Kawthpanyat, and Naunghtetpan.

“The villagers want to go to Nabu Village and Kyondoe Town, but they’re not allowed. Farmers who want to harvest their rice can’t go to the fields either. The soldiers check the villagers very strictly and sometimes even beat them. They’re still roaming around the villages,” a displaced Kawthpanyat villager told KIC.

On October 12 and 13, a junta column operating in the area, along with Kawkareik Town’s Infantry Battalion 97 (IB 97), shelled the villages of Naungmi, Htiphosan, and Michaunginn with artillery.

According to resistance sources, fighting between the junta and the KNLA continues along the route linking Kawkareik Town and Michaunginn Village.