Regime fighter jets bombed a church and other religious buildings, including the home of a Christian monk and other houses, during an attack on a village in Demawso Township in an area where no fighting had previously been reported.
A man who asked for his name to be kept confidential said that following the attack, which occurred at around 2am on Tuesday 8 March, there’s still an unexploded bomb in Sawng Dular, where some residents still live.
According to the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) Battalion 8, three fighter jets also attacked the nearby villages of Thay Su Lae and Pu Hper, as well as the surrounding areas in Demawso Township, at around 7:30am.
KNDF has instructed civilians in Karenni State to always be ready to flee to safety as the junta seems to be attacking villages with increasing frequency without provocation.
On 27 February, fighter jets attacked Lo Ber Hko, where many people who’d fled the fighting were hiding, but no fighting was reported.
Since the Burma Army (BA) launched a massive offensive around Mobye in neighbouring southern Shan State last month, airstrikes and ground attacks with tanks and armoured vehicles on resistance fighters and civilians have increased around Nam Maekhong in Demawso Township as the regime attempts to seize more territory from rebel groups.
On 13 February, BA Infantry Battalion 102 fired 120 mm artillery shells and 81 mm mortars at Per Por Du. Fortunately, no one was killed or injured, although some shells landed right next to people during the attack.
On 16 January, regime fighter jets attacked Nam Maekhong, where many people had sought refuge, killing three teenagers. The next day, the junta flew an airstrike on Rekeebu displaced camp in Hpruso Township, killing two girls aged 12 and 15 and a 52-year-old man. The civilians in the camp fled Mo So, near which BA had murdered and burned more than 35 people, including several children, on Christmas Eve.
About 180,000 people—over half of the 300,000 people living in Karenni State—have fled regime offensives and fighting with resistance groups that oppose the dictatorship.
