A total of 33 civilians were killed and 13 others were injured in fighting in and around Moebye Town on the border of Shan and Kayah states from May 27 to June 15, according the Karenni Human Rights Group.
“The Myanmar military fired artillery every day,” Ko Banyar, executive director of the group, told The Irrawaddy.
“Civilians were killed in three ways. They were detained and killed by the regime. They were shot dead while fleeing raids. They were killed by artillery strikes,” he explained.
Sixteen of the victims were killed by junta artillery strikes, 15 others were shot dead, and two women were raped and then killed.
The victims ranged between three and 39 years old, according to the rights group.
After more than 200 junta troops were deployed in Moebye town, renewed fighting between junta troops and allied Karenni resistance forces broke out towards the end of May.
A Karenni resistance fighter said: “Junta troops are deployed in civilian houses, mainly brick buildings which are good for defense. In previous clashes, fighting usually only lasted for a day, and civilians returned to their homes the following day and did business as normal. This time, civilians also thought the fighting would not last long. So, they remained in their houses and hid in monasteries. People who had not fled were killed.”
Two junta light infantry battalions (LIB), Moebye-based LIB 422 and Pekon-based LIB 336, shelled villages close to the fighting as well as shelters for displaced people.
The junta’s Loikaw-based Artillery Battalion 356 also carried out artillery strikes, in addition to air strikes, according to Karenni resistance forces and local residents.
The Myanmar military is attempting to take control of the Moebye-Loikaw road because Moebye is just a four-hour drive from Naypyitaw, the junta’s administrative capital, said allied Karenni resistance forces.
Moebye is also only a 30-minute drive from Loikaw and Demoso.
A member of the allied Karenni resistance forces said: “The Myanmar military will make Moebye their base. They will try to cut food supplies delivered via Moebye-Loikaw road. Moebye is a crucial place on the Shan-Kayah border, so the Myanmar military will try to cut food supplies from there.”
Since the February 2021 coup, a total of 84 clashes have been reported between junta troops and allied Karenni resistance forces around Moebye.
The Moebye People’s Defense Force said more than 500 junta soldiers had been killed and that it had sustained 23 fatalities.
More than 600 buildings, including homes and religious buildings, were destroyed or damaged in the clashes, it said on June 17.
