Over 2,000 flee fighting in Kayin State’s Myawaddy Twsp

17 Sep 2022

DMG Newsroom
17 September 2022, Sittwe

More than 2,000 residents of Kayin State’s Myawaddy Township were displaced by fighting between junta troops and the combined forces of Kayin (Karen) resistance groups on September 15 and 16.

As around 100 junta troops advanced along the Myawaddy-Waw Lay road in Myawaddy on Thursday, Cobra Column — a resistance group that is fighting alongside the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) — clashed with them near the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) headquarters, according to a KNLA source.

“A large number of junta troops advanced on September 15, and we clashed with them. The following day, more junta troops came, and clashes broke out again,” the KNLA fighter told DMG on Saturday.

More than 1,000 villagers from Taungni Village, near the DKBA headquarters, and some 1,000 displaced villagers from Thay Baw Boe Village who had been taking shelter at Sone Si Myaing Monastery, were forced to flee to the Thai-Myanmar border due to junta shelling, according to volunteers helping the displaced people.

“Almost all the villagers from Taungni Village have fled due to the fighting near the village. The displaced residents from Thay Baw Boe Village dare not stay at Sone Si Myaing Village, and have fled to the Thai border,” said a volunteer.

A 40-year-old displaced woman from Thay Baw Boe Village died and two others were injured by junta artillery strikes, according to healthcare workers helping displaced people.

“A woman was hit by shrapnel in her head. Two men were injured in their arm and thigh, respectively,” said one health worker.

Fighting was reported along the Myawaddy-Waw Lay road on Saturday as well.