Thousands of locals in Bago Region’s Mone Twsp displaced by fighting

By Admin 05 Dec 2023

DMG Newsroom
5 December 2023, Mone, Bago Region

Thousands of local people in Mone Township, Bago Region, have reportedly been displaced by fighting between anti-regime forces led by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of Karen National Union (KNU), and the military.

A coalition headed by the KNLA launched attacks on the military’s Light Infantry Battalion Nos. 599 and 590, the Myoma police station in Mone town, and a security checkpoint near a bridge on December 2, and seized the town two days later.

About 10,000 local residents have fled to Nyaunglebin, Kyaukkyi and Shwegyin towns and the displaced people are not allowed to enter the town yet.

“Some residents have fled to safer locations since previous fighting. Almost all residents in Mone fled to Kyaukkyi, Shwegyin and Nyaunglebin,” said a member of the Karen Youth Organisation (KYO).

At least 10 homes in downtown Mone were destroyed by junta airstrikes, according to a source close to the KNLA.

“Some homes near the police station were reduced to ashes by the junta airstrikes during the fighting. Locals will be allowed to enter the town only if peace and stability is restored in the town,” the source added.

Some displaced people hiding in the jungle are facing accommodation difficulties due to the winter cold.

“As we take refuge in the forest, we need warm clothes and makeshift tents. My home was burned to the ground by the junta shelling,” said a displaced person.

Dozens of junta soldiers including a deputy battalion commander and a captain from the military’s Swa-based Light Infantry Battalion No. 84 surrendered to the KNLA-led forces during the fighting, the National Unity Government said in a statement on Monday.