A section of the road connecting Kawkareik and Kyainseikgyi townships in Karen State near Taungkyarinn village was destroyed by the Military Council using bulldozers, locals said. The Military Council has closed the Taungkyarinn Bridge, which is an important part of the road, to the public since May 6th. A week later, the Regime forces bulldozed a section of the road.

Since the day preceding the road destruction, the Military Council had increased security measures around Taungkyarinn village and along the road, deploying covert guards, according to a female witness.

Following the closure of the Taungkyarinn Bridge, the 97th Infantry Division stationed in Kawkareik has been engaging in nightly mortar fire targeting the vicinity of the bridge. On the morning of May 14th, they further escalated their aggression by bulldozing a section of the road and shelling the village of Taungkyarinn.

Due to the Military Council’s destruction of the road, the inhabitants residing in Kawkareik, Kyondoe, and Notakaw townships within the Dooplaya District, an area under the control of the Karen National Union's 6th Brigade, find themselves in a state of extreme distress. Reports from locals indicate that the villages in the region are also currently grappling with a severe shortage of essential food supplies.

“"I don't get why they wrecked the road. They blocked the bridge before and now did it again.

I have no clue what's coming next. It's confirmed that soldiers from the Military Council destroyed the main road using bulldozers. They did this after stationing security guards near the village. After the road was destroyed, the soldiers guarding the area vanished”, she told KIC.

She added comments on what this means to their daily life. "In our village, the grocery store offerings lacked diversity from the start. Things took a turn for the worse with the closure of the bridge, and now that the road is destroyed, the situation is bound to get worse. This is the prime time for exporting luscious durians and mangosteens, but there's a fear that without functioning communication channels and buyers, their prices will plummet”, a woman who runs orchards said.

Similarly, on May 13th, the Military Council employed bulldozers and excavators to demolish Kamaikone Road, Myayin Road, and Kyaikdon Road, severing their crucial connections from the southern side of Kawkareik, according to locals.