Thousands of villagers, including Catholics, have fled their homes as the military in Myanmar escalated attacks amid the UN Security Council’s move to hear reports from special envoys on the civil war in the southeast Asian nation.
The new flare-up between the army and the rebel groups, which also includes Christians, has prompted thousands of villagers in Demoso township in predominantly Christian Kayah State, a mountainous eastern region bordering Thailand, to take shelter in relatives’ homes and in forests, according to local sources.
They said at least 3,000 people have fled their homes since March 10 when the fighting increased.
“We heard artillery shelling and gunfire and saw many fleeing villagers taking refuge in relatives’ homes,” a local resident from Loikaw, the capital city of Kayah State, who did not wish to be named, reports UCA News.
Many churches and convents in Loikaw Diocese are currently serving as shelter camps for hundreds of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Fighting has continued on the border between Kayah State and southern Shan State since late February.
More than 150,000 civilians, including Catholics, have been forced to seek shelter in churches, makeshift camps, and in the jungle, according to aid groups.
As the army retaliated, at least nine churches have been hit in Loikaw Diocese, with 16 out of 38 parishes severely affected since the civil war started following the coup in 2021.
Meanwhile, for the first time in December last year, the UN Security Council through a resolution asked the military to put an end to violence and allow unhindered humanitarian assistance to uprooted persons.