Fierce fighting rocked Loikaw, the capital of Karenni (Kayah) State, on Friday, as the town’s remaining residents expressed fears for their lives under escalating junta air strikes.
A huge blaze raged in Loikaw on Friday as allied resistance forces continued their attacks in an effort to drive out regime troops as part of Operation 1111, named after its launch date last month.
Loikaw residents said a blast occurred in the compound of the junta’s 54th Infantry Battalion, where supplies of weapons and ammunition are reportedly frequently delivered by regime helicopters.
The Irrawaddy was unable to independently verify the claim, however.
Since Nov. 11, allied resistance forces made up of the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, Karenni Army, Karenni National People’s Liberation Front and People Defense Force groups have been attacking regime outposts and bases in Loikaw and neighboring Pekon Township in southern Shan State.
So far, over 35 junta outposts and bases—including positions taken up by regime forces at Loikaw University and the District Court—have been captured by allied resistance forces, according to the KNDF.
The group also claimed that over 200 regime troops including two commanders have been killed by allied resistance forces in clashes since Nov. 11.
Over 50 junta troops have surrendered to the resistance forces, and at least 45 resistance members have sacrificed their lives during the clashes, the KNDF said.
Large numbers of weapons and quantities of ammunition have also been seized by resistance groups.
The junta’s administrative mechanism no longer functions in Loikaw, once a fortified junta stronghold, according to the KNDF.
Marwi of the KNDF told The Irrawaddy that resistance forces now have control over half of the town, and are able to roam freely in these areas.
Clashes continued to rage in Loikaw’s Naung Yar and Daw Au Khu residential wards, residents posted on Facebook.
Residents who have fled Loikaw expressed concern for their family members and relatives due to the escalation of heavy shelling and aerial bombardments by the junta.
At least three bodies have been spotted in Loikaw streets but residents are unable to retrieve them due to shooting by junta forces, residents reported.
The Karenni Humanitarian Aid Initiative, a group that monitors regime violence, estimates that at least 76 people, including 12 children, have been killed and over 70 injured due to junta shelling, air strikes and shooting in Karenni State since Nov. 11.
