Following the clashes between the coup regime and the People’s Defense Joint Forces (PDF) in Naung Cho Township, Kyaukme District Shan State, an investigation found that nine homes of local residents were damaged.
From April 5 to April 9, the skirmish between the Military Council and the People’s Defense Joint Forces resulted in the damage of at least nine houses belonging to local residents, due to artillery shells fired by the Military Council.
“ In Konegyi village-tract, there are about 8 or 9 houses that have been destroyed. The fighting has been going on for 4 consecutive days. Artillery shells are falling into the village every day. We still do not know the exact amount of the damage. The villagers are fleeing the war,” a local man, who did not want to be named, told the Shan Herald.
Due to the ongoing conflict, residents of Hokhe, Kyukaw, Namkaung, Hokho, and Kyuinn villages in Konegyi village-tract, located in Naung Cho Township, have been forced to abandon their homes and flee the area.
Local residents told Shan Herald that the details of the damage in the village are not yet known, and they are concerned about the potential presence of unexploded bombs..
“There are Military Council troops in some villages. Even though there are no soldiers in some villages, they dare not enter the villages for fear of having explosive weapons. That’s why we don’t know the details of the damages in the villages. The battle is still going on today,” he told the Shan Herald.
The conflict between the Military Council that staged the coup and the People’s Defense Joint Force remains ongoing, and further details about today’s battle will continue to be released.
What we know is approximately 300 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have sought shelter at Hkiohkam Monastery in Naung Cho Township. Also there are around 500 individuals, including
children and elderly people, who have fled the conflict in Naung Cho Township and Pyin Oo Lwin Township. At present, they are in need of donors who will help provide food and equipment.
The ongoing conflict between the coup Military Council troops and the People's Defense Joint Forces has resulted in death of two children and injuries to several civilians in Naung Cho Township.
On the morning of April 3, a local man from Konenyaung Village, Naung Cho Township, stepped on a landmine while going to a sugarcane field.
Although the Military Council announced a one-year ceasefire between January 1 and December 31, 2023, airstrikes in ethnic regions and clashes on the battlefield involving military council troops have persisted.
