The Military Council launched artillery shelling on the villages of Taung Kya Inn and Long Kai villages in Dooplaya district, southern Karaweik, part of the territory usually controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU) 6th Brigade.
The shelling on December 11 th came from 120 mm cannons of the Hlaing Wa artillery corps under 12th Command Division based in Kawkareik township, destroying six residential houses in two villages, locals said. Two houses in Taung Kyar Inn and four in Long Kai were destroyed by regime bombardments.
A Long Kai villager told KIC “Shots were fired from the hill where Hlaing Wa artillery corps under 12th Command Division is stationed. Junta troops camped in the high school compound near the Taung Kyar Inn bridge and the trenches of the Border Guard Forces (BGF) also fired with mortars. The two houses in Taung Kyar Inn were completely burnt to ashes. Another four houses in Long Kai were also damaged by artillery shells”, he said.
“At the moment the exact amount of the damage is not known as the locals have not dared to go back to the villages and check.It is only because many villagers fled the area in advance, that there were no casualties,” the Long Kai villager added.
In addition, the Military Council’s columns have carried out patrols around the villages of Maung Ma, Ywar Thit, Taung Kyar Inn, and Win Ka forcing most villagers to flee to safer areas.
More than a year after the conflicts began in the region, around 7000 residents from about 30 villages in southern Kawkareik, have fled the war. Some villagers return to their homes in the daytime, and sleep in safer places at night, locals said.
“In addition to the Military Council’s combat patrols, BGF members often get drunk and unleash nighttime artillery attacks targeting the villages. When those shots are heard, Hlaing Wa artillery corps often join in and launched artillery bombardments, so locals have a hard time to get any sleep at night,” a war refugee from Taung Kyar Inn said.
“At night, the BGF outpost get drunk and shoot randomly with small arms. Then the 12th Command Division and the Military Council troops from Kawkareik begin shelling the villages south of the Kawkareik township with 120 mm cannons. At night the villagers go to bomb shelters and spaces under the monastery buildings to hide and sleep. Villagers can’t do their normal work for their livelihood anymore. There is already a food shortage because we cannot sell or buy farm products”, he told KIC.
Volunteers helping the refugees say that, “ There is very little access to health care and and food for those who are fleeing, and some are suffering from illness and not enough to eat.
