Two novice monks were killed when junta artillery shelled a monastery in the state capital of Loikaw on Sunday as resistance forces continued their offensive in Kayah State, according to locals.
The shelling destroyed Ottayar Yone monastery, killing two novices aged around 18 years old.
More than 40 monks fled the monastery on Saturday but the two novices had remained with the abbot, a resident said.
“The two novices were the most intelligent. That’s why they stayed with their abbot. We are heartbroken because the two would have become full monks next year,” a local resident told The Irrawaddy.
Regime shelling of the area on Friday and Saturday also killed seven civilians, including two children, according to the Karenni Human Rights Group.
Houses in the town have been destroyed by regime artillery and airstrikes over the past few days, a Loikaw resident said.
“Almost all civilians have abandoned Loikaw. We are fleeing to southern Shan State because there is fighting in the town every day,” a resident told The Irrawaddy.
Allied resistance forces comprising the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), Karenni National People’s Liberation Front (KNPLF, Karenni Army (KA) and PDF groups launched the Operation 1111 offensive in Kayah on November 11, in parallel with Operation 1027 in northern Shan State.
The 1111 offensive has so far seized over 20 junta positions in Kayah’s Loikaw and Demoso townships and neighboring Pekon Township in southern Shan State, the groups said.
The junta has retaliated with air and artillery bombardments in Kayah and southern Shan State. Junta forces have carried out at least 178 airstrikes in Loikaw alone over the past week, according to the Karenni Humanitarian Aid Initiative.
The group said 50 civilians, including six children, have been killed in Kayah State since November 11. Most were killed by regime artillery and air strikes, while seven were shot dead by troops.
An estimated 40,000 Loikaw residents have fled the town. A resistance representative warned the remaining residents to leave the town as soon as possible amid fear for their safety.
“There is fighting right now. The clashes are going to get more intense,” he told The Irrawaddy on Monday.
