Despite a mass evacuation of towns across the country to escape escalating fighting between regime troops and revolutionary forces, some civilians have opted to stay at home, digging bomb shelters to protect themselves from the onslaught.
Tens of thousands of residents have fled as an anti-regime offensive launched in October in northern Shan State expanded to Karenni (Kayah), Karen and Rakhine states and Sagaing and Magwe regions, seizing over 300 junta bases and around 20 towns.
Loikaw, the capital of Karenni State, now lies deserted after a mass evacuation by civilians fleeing relentless junta airstrikes and shelling in response to resistance attacks. However, one resident said he and his family cannot leave since they do not have enough money to travel and shelter in a neighboring town.
“We constructed a bomb shelter with cement,” he told The Irrawaddy.
“We fled last year but faced hardship in other places, so we are staying at home now despite hearing sounds of shooting every day.”
He said he and his family would only leave the town if there was no other option.
Less than 10 percent of Loikaw’s 50,000 residents remain in the town, according to volunteers.
Civilians in Mrauk-U, Rakhine State, are facing a similar dilemma as the town is rocked by daily clashes between junta troops and the Arakan Army (AA).
Daily life for residents is becoming increasingly difficult as a food shortage sends prices soaring. Those not willing to flee are also building makeshift bomb shelters at home, said resident U Nyo.
“How long can we live in the other people’s houses? It is really difficult for us to flee to other towns in such conditions. So, we have to live with the mindset of facing whatever comes,” he told The Irrawaddy.
However, U Nyo’s fear surges at night when junta troops use artillery to shell the town.
“If they shoot, we [civilians] will be hit,” he told the Irrawaddy.
Residents of Muse in northern Shan State are living with the same fear. Ko Sai decided not to flee after fierce fighting broke out in the town recently. Wealthy residents had evacuated to the Chinese border town of Shweli, he said, leaving the rest of the town’s population to fortify their homes in whatever they could.
“We have no place to flee. Even the people from Namkham and Muse 105-mile [border trade zone, where intense battles are ongoing] are sheltering in the town,” Ko Sai told The Irrawaddy.
Junta troops are shelling civilian targets in
Namkham, located 30 kilometers from Muse, is under intense artillery bombardment as junta troops target civilian areas during clashes with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). The junta also conducted airstrikes this week in the Muse 105-mile trade zone as Brotherhood Alliance forces attempted to seize a base there.
Power has been cut for the last fortnight in Muse, where residents are enduring the sound of artillery shelling every day.
“If the fighting expands to our town, I want it to end as soon as possible,” Ko Sai said.
He added that he was prepared to face even the risk of death from a shell hitting his house.
“We are prepared for the worst, because our troubles are not as bad as other’s and we are only facing this now, while others have faced it for so long.”
