Artillery fire on village prompts more Kayin State civilians to flee to Thai border

By DMG 23 Dec 2021

DMG Newsroom
23 December 2021, Myawaddy, Kayin State 

Junta forces fired heavy weapons on Thay Baw Bo village, south of Myawaddy town in Kayin State, early Thursday morning, destroying some houses and forcing local residents to flee to the Thai border. 

A villager who asked for anonymity told DMG that he and others fled to the Thaung Yin River, which forms part of the Thai-Myanmar border, after artillery shells landed in the village. 

“I heard the sound of heavy weapons fire. When I heard that artillery shells hit houses in the village, we had to flee. Currently, my house has also been damaged,” the villager said. 

Some artillery shells also reportedly hit a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) along the border with Thailand, prompting IDPs to again flee — this time from the camp where they had taken shelter.  

A Burmese resident in Mae Sot, a Thai border town that has hosted Burmese refugees for decades, said the Thai Air Force was flying helicopters near the border following Thursday’s artillery strikes on the IDP camp.  

“I heard the sound of helicopters flying early in the morning. I think there were about three helicopters. I saw them flying near the Thai-Myanmar border. I also heard artillery shells hit an IDP camp. That’s why they are patrolling,” he said. 

More than 10,000 people have fled to the banks of the Thaung Yin River as well as to Mae Sot and the Phalulay IDP camp on the Myanmar side since fighting first flared between the Myanmar military and Karen National Union forces on December 15, according to the Aid Alliance Committee. 

Casualties have been reported on both sides, though junta troops appear to have suffered significantly higher losses to date. 

At least five people, including an elderly resident, are being provided medical treatment at Mae Sot Hospital after artillery shells hit the camps.