Battle-ridden Loikaw continued to face air strikes and attack by Myanmar ground forces as residents continue to try to flee but have been blocked by soldiers.

In the latest incident, the Myanmar Military launched an air strike on Daw U Khu and Mong Lone wards in Loikaw township, Karenni (Kayah) State at 5.40 pm January 11, and heavy fighting broke out, according to local residents.

Fighting between the Myanmar Army and local defence forces started at 2 pm.

"After fighting broke out in Daw U Khu ward, fighting was intense in Mong Lone ward at noon. The Myanmar Army fired heavy weapons and small arms. Now the fighter aircraft is coming," a local resident told Mizzima.

A fighter of the DMO-PDF Battalion (B) said that during the fighting, the Myanmar Army used 120 mm artillery more than before and fired at them with other small arms. He said there were casualties on the part of the Myanmar Army.

Local defence forces such as the KNDF, KDF, DMO-PDF, GZ-21 (Loikaw), KA, Medic unit (Demoso), MbPDF Loikaw PDF, PPDF, KPDF and other groups are jointly fighting against the Myanmar Army.

The military junta has reportedly warned residents that the Kayah State capital will be carpet bombed if armed groups continue fighting.

About 50,000 people are said to have fled Loikaw after military airstrikes destroyed areas of the city during the recent attacks, increasing the number of displaced to about 200,000.

A UN human rights investigator earlier in the week called on the Myanmar military to halt attacks on the town and lift a blockade on those trying to flee.

In a message on Twitter, Thomas Andrews, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said in a Twitter message that the military ruler Min Aung Hlaing "must immediately halt the air and ground attacks that junta forces have unleashed on Loikaw. "

A blockade preventing people fleeing from the area should also be lifted and humanitarian aid let in, he said.

Loikaw is the capital of eastern Myanmar's Karenni or Kayah State, which borders Thailand, that has often seen intense fighting between the army and rebel groups opposed to last year's coup.