Over 400 people displaced by a junta offensive (IDPs), from villages in Launglon Township, in Dawei District, Tanintharyi Region are in urgent need of aid.
Following a 17 August attack on Maungmagan Police Station, in Launglon Township, about 100 junta soldiers entered villages in Launglon Township, which caused villagers to flee.
An aid worker assisting the IDPs, who are sheltering in the forests and countryside surrounding their villages, said to Karen Information Centre (KIC): “They have been displaced since last month until now. Due to the ongoing rain, proper shelter is urgently needed. Currently, there are over 400 IDPs, the majority are elderly residents from the villages.”
The junta forces primarily targeted the Launglon Township villages of Maungmagan, Kyauksin, Thabawtseik, and Pyingyi where they have established military bases and bunkers, according to Ko Shae Doe, a spokesperson for the Launglon Township People's Defence Force (PDF).
He said: "They have established military bases in the villages and are also transporting all available materials from the homes within those villages. The fighting is currently intense on both sides. Due to ongoing heavy artillery fire by the junta forces, residents have not been able to return home.”
With junta forces still occupying the villages after more than three weeks , villagers are still too scared to return. They are now facing shortages of essential supplies and medication because they have been away from their homes for so long, according to aid organisations helping them.
According to a statement by Yebyu PDF at least 28 junta soldiers were killed in an hour long battle between junta and revolutionary forces in Launglon Township’s Pyin Gyi Village on 6 September. Defence force casualty numbers were not released and KIC has not yet been able to independently confirm casualty numbers.
The revolutionary forces involved in the battle were the Yebyu PDF, Belone PDF, Klar Thit Nat PDF, and the Dawei National Liberation Army (DNLA), according to the Yebyu PDF statement.
