• Burmese
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
28 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

More Than 70,000 People Displaced as Fighting Rages in Eastern Myanmar

The Irrawaddy by The Irrawaddy
May 26, 2021
in Burma
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Feature: Villagers in Kayah State’s Demoso Township fled from their homes on May 22 and are displaced in the hills. / CJ

Feature: Villagers in Kayah State’s Demoso Township fled from their homes on May 22 and are displaced in the hills. / CJ

16.3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Civilian resistance fighters in eastern Myanmar’s Kayah State seized and destroyed a police security checkpoint north of Loikaw, the Kayah capital, on Wednesday morning.

The Karenni People’s Defense Force (KPDF) burned the captured outpost in Htee Se Khar in Loilen Lay town, 15 miles north of Loikaw and close to the border with Shan State, according to a member of the KPDF.

A police outpost in Htee Se Khar in Loilen Lay town, Loikaw was burned down after the Karenni People’s Defense Force seized it on May 26. / Progressive Karenni People Force

The attack comes as military tensions rise in Kayah and security has been tightened in downtown Loikaw, with junta forces checking the cell phones of residents. Many people are staying in their houses, while workers from other areas of the country are returning to their hometowns.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar Junta Retakes Mobye in Southern Shan

Myanmar Junta Retakes Mobye in Southern Shan

July 3, 2025
2.2k
Myanmar Junta Attacks Resistance Shan Stronghold

Myanmar Junta Attacks Resistance Shan Stronghold

April 29, 2025
2.6k
Karenni Rebels Advance on Key Shan Town

Karenni Rebels Advance on Key Shan Town

February 7, 2025
3k

Fighting between regime soldiers and the KPDF broke out on May 21 and over forty junta troops, including police, have since been killed. The KPDF has attacked and destroyed police stations in Kayah State’s Demoso Township and Shan State’s Pekon Township and Moebyel Town. Regime forces have fired artillery into community quarters and villages following the shootouts with the KPDF.

Clashes continued in Demoso Township at dawn on Wednesday. A KPDF member said a woman was killed by junta forces gunfire, while another man was seriously injured.

Five KPDF members were confirmed killed after heavy fighting near the Ngwe Taung Dam in Demoso Township on Tuesday.

“During the May 25 fighting, we lost five of our men. We also heard there were many casualties from the junta side. However, we can only confirm seeing five dead regime soldiers,” said the KPDF member on Wednesday.

Displaced People

Some 70,000 residents from around 150 villages in Demoso, Loikaw and Shan State’s Pekon Township have been displaced in the five days of fighting since Friday, according to relief workers.

In Pekon and Moebyel Town, over 20,000 people have been displaced, while more than 50,000 are displaced in Kayah State, including 10,000 in Demoso and 6,000 in Nam Mae Khon, according to Pekon, Loikaw and Demoso residents.

Villagers in Kayah State’s Demoso Township fled from their homes on May 22 and are displaced in the hills. / CJ

One relief worker said the villagers have fled into the hills, while town residents are sheltering at monasteries, churches and in elders homes. “We need shelters in the rural areas with the rainy season beginning. The elders and children also need medicine,” he said.

Another relief worker in Pekon said the town residents and people from nearby villages have fled their homes. The displaced villagers are taking temporary shelter at five different places, as well as scattering across Pekon and Moebyel to stay with relatives. He added that they are in need of emergency help, as the basic food items the villagers brought with them will run out after a week if the fighting continues.

A spokesman of the management committee for the internally displaced people (IDP) in Pikin Kaw Khu, a village near the Kayah-Shan border, said that there are about 1,500 people who fled from Pekin Kaw Khu and Hawyi Kaw Khu villages. They have brought some food with them, but if they are going to be displaced for a long time, people will need rice, medicine and shelter from the elements.

Villagers in Kayah State’s Demoso Township fled from their homes on May 22 and are displaced in the hills. / CJ

“We opened an IDP camp in Pekin Kaw Khu. But after artillery fire landed in the camp, we now have to go to another place,” he said.

One villager from Kone Thar village said that more than 2,000 people have fled alongside him. “We have rice, but not enough for a long time. We need shelters, clean water and medicine,” said the villager.

Relief workers, camp management leaders and locals who The Irrawaddy contacted urged the junta forces not to fire at civilians and the IDP camps.

The relief worker from Pekon added, “There is no guaranteed safe place for the IDPs, because the junta forces even fire at the churches where people are sheltering and white flags are flying.”


You may also like these stories:

Two Myanmar Resistance Fighters Killed in Sagaing Clash

Myanmar Construction Ministry Sacks 181 Striking Staff

Govt Schools in Southern Myanmar Targeted With Bombs and Fire

Your Thoughts …
Tags: civilian resistance fightersDemoso TownshipIDP campInternally Displaced Peoplejunta troopsKarenni People’s Defense ForcesKayah StateKPDFLoikawMoebyel TownPekon Townshipregime forces
The Irrawaddy

The Irrawaddy

...

Similar Picks:

Rebels With a Cause: Myanmar’s Resistance Adds an Unlikely Revenue Stream
Burma

Rebels With a Cause: Myanmar’s Resistance Adds an Unlikely Revenue Stream

by Brian Wei
July 26, 2024
11.4k

A resistance group has launched a beverage brand to fund its war against Myanmar’s military.

Read moreDetails
AA Seizing Last Myanmar-Junta Controlled Town in Northwestern Rakhine
Burma

AA Seizing Last Myanmar-Junta Controlled Town in Northwestern Rakhine

by The Irrawaddy
August 21, 2024
10.9k

The ethnic army launched attacks on junta positions in and around Maungdaw town, including a heavily fortified border guard police...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar IDPs Stranded by Junta Troops in Northern Shan State Face a Long Walk Home
Burma

Myanmar IDPs Stranded by Junta Troops in Northern Shan State Face a Long Walk Home

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 30, 2023
9.9k

After fleeing Laukkai Town to save their lives, thousands of IDPs are now sleeping on roads outside Lashio as junta...

Read moreDetails
Junta Airstrikes Kill 105 of Its Own Troops and Their Families
Conflicts In Numbers

Junta Airstrikes Kill 105 of Its Own Troops and Their Families

by Hein Htoo Zan
January 28, 2025
7.6k

Resistance forces say the junta deliberately targets regime troops who have surrendered to prevent them from disclosing war crimes and...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Forcing Villagers Into Sittwe as ‘Human Shields’ for City
Ethnic Issues

Myanmar Junta Forcing Villagers Into Sittwe as ‘Human Shields’ for City

by The Irrawaddy
June 11, 2024
7k

Residents of areas north of the Rakhine capital are being forcibly moved out of their villages and into the city...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta to Prosecute Satellite Internet Users
Burma

Myanmar Junta to Prosecute Satellite Internet Users

by The Irrawaddy
November 24, 2023
6.1k

The regime says anyone using unlicensed communication devices could be jailed for up to a year.

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Children slain since February by regime troops during their violent assaults against protesters.

73 Children Killed by Myanmar Junta Forces Since Coup

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint and Naypyitaw Council Chairman Dr. Myo Aung appear in court in Naypyitaw on Monday. / Commander in Chief of Defense Services Myanmar

To Those Who Sacrifice the Most for Myanmar, the Choice Is Clear

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

7 days ago
1.3k
What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

17 hours ago
714

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

    Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Moves into Nawnghkio Outskirts

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar and Russian Regimes Push Indian Trade Corridor to Bypass Western Sanctions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.