SAC airstrikes and shelling kill three, injure four civilians, but fail to deter resistance attacks

During the past two weeks, the SAC has continued carrying out air and artillery attacks on civilian areas of Demawso, Loikaw and Pekhon, killing three villagers, including a disabled woman, and injuring four others. This deliberate targeting of civilians has failed to deter resistance attacks on SAC troops, who lost two outposts in Demawso to combined Karenni forces on September 2, suffering many casualties. These two outposts lie on the main transport route between Demawso and Pruso, and represent a significant tactical defeat for the SAC.

On August 31, at 4 am, despite there being no clashes between combined Karenni forces and SAC at the time, SAC aircraft bombed four times in the west of Demawso township, damaging some buildings. At 6 am, SAC aircraft also bombed an IDP area in the east of Demawso township, killing a male villager, and injuring two others, and damaging three houses and a school. On the same day, at 10 am, the SAC indiscriminately fired artillery from a base in Moebye into Saw Kee Daw village, Loikaw township, killing two civilians – a 40-year-old man and a 38-year-old disabled woman — and injuring another male civilian. Moreover, that day, the Southern Shan Drone Force (SSDF) patrolling in Kaung Ei village, Phekon township, found that 20 houses had been ransacked by SAC troops who had been camping there.

On September 2, at 5 am, combined Karenni forces, including KA, KNPLF, DMO Local PDF and KNDF, attacked and seized two SAC outposts in Tay Su Le village and Pu Phan village in Demawso township, killing 30 SAC soldiers and injuring several others, while some escaped. During the clashes, there were some casualties on the side of the combined Karenni forces, who managed to seize some SAC ammunition. The two seized outposts lie along the main road from Moebye to Demawso. On the same day, combined Karenni forces from KRU, DMO PDF battalion 4 and KNDF B-4 launched an attack on a SAC outpost in Khone Tar village, Demawso township, but did not manage to seize the outpost.

On September 8, at 1 pm, SAC aircraft dropped three bombs, including a 500 pound bomb near Saung Pway IDP camp in Pekhon township, damaging some houses and injuring a woman in her hand. Due to the ongoing reinforcement of SAC troops along the main road from Pruso to Bawlake, the central committee of KNDF announced on September 8 that the public should not use this road.

From the beginning of September until September 10, 600 refugees sheltering in Saohin village returned to Mese township, Karenni State. They had fled from clashes in June between combined Karenni forces and the SAC.

Contact persons:

Khu Ko Reh Tel: +666 5329 7814
Khu Ruby Tel: +666 3184 2980
Website : www.karennicsn.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kcsnengbur
Email: [email protected]

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