Daily violent clashes continue in villages along the road connecting Thanbyuzayat Town in Mon State to Payathonzu (Three Pagoda Pass) Town on the Thailand-Myanmar border, leading to a rising toll of deaths and injuries.
As of August 29, the junta expanded its attacks to Ahnankwin, Yetagon, Thetkaw, and Hlutshan and nearby other villages, while conducting airstrikes with Y-12 aircraft that killed at least six locals, including women and children, a Yetagon villager said.
"The situation is pretty bad along the road section from Thetkaw to Zeehnitpin Village, leading to Payathonzu. We hear artillery fire almost every day. On August 28, a woman was killed on the spot in Yetagon due to the junta's shelling. Two children also lost their lives, and their father was injured when an artillery shell landed near their village house,” he told IMNA.
Additionally, an Ahnankwin villager was killed in the junta's airstrike, and another displaced resident is missing after risking a return to the village to retrieve belongings, an Ahnankwin village woman said.
"Since August 19, our village has been hit by airstrikes, resulting in one death. And another villager is still missing. Additionally, seven others died from diseases during the displacement,” she reported.
As clashes intensified, the Hlutshan village monastery and several village houses were destroyed, with nearly the entire Ahnankwin village also devastated. Locals predict that the number of casualties may continue to rise.
The clashes erupted in mid-August when joint resistance forces, led by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), launched an attack on the junta's Ahnankwin Tactical Operations Command (TOC) along the Payathonzu-Thanbyuzayat Road.
The clashes that began in Ahnankwin and Hlutshan villages quickly spread to around 10 nearby villages, including Tanyin, Hpaya, Panaung, Putaw, Yetpaw, Kakatit, and Khunnawar, forcing thousands of residents to flee for safety.
The junta troop strength at the Ahnankwin TOC has declined significantly, raising concerns among communities that the junta may send ground reinforcements, potentially worsening the ongoing clashes.
