Resistance Warns Civilians Against Returning to Loikaw
By Network Media Group
Thursday, May 23, 2024
The Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) has warned Loikaw civilians displaced from fighting not to return to the capital of Karenni State after the Military Council started circulating misinformation suggesting it’s safe to return to the town when it’s still a war zone.
Almost all of Loikaw’s 50,000-plus residents fled when the KNDF, Karenni Army, and other resistance forces initiated Operation 1111 late last year to clear the regime’s forces from the capital town and the rest of the state, which they now claim to control 80 percent of.
KNDF information officer, Saw Tar Eh Soe, said, “It’s not the right time to return home; Loikaw is still a battleground.” He also advised against returning to collect their items from their homes.
Although the KNDF and others have cleared many Burma army soldiers from Loikaw, they haven’t been able to fully capture the town until today.
“Sometimes we clash with them, but it’s not a big fighting,” says Saw Tar Eh Soe.
The military junta has been spreading propaganda about rehabilitating parts of the town. Its Telegram channels state it’s reconnecting electricity and water for returnees.
Some people said this has already happened in Min Su, Daw Noeku, Shan Pai, Daw Tama, Kyi Thayar, Nam Baw Wan, Acre-500, and Yay Ni Kan wards.
But Saw Tar Eh Soe said, “It’s impossible for the Military Council to implement its administration in Loikaw. It’s just propaganda. Their strategy is to use civilians as human shields during battles with resistance groups.” He said that junta soldiers have been seen patrolling in some areas.
According to a woman affected by the war, five families returned to Loikaw from Nyaung Shwe Township on May 5 after believing the regime’s propaganda but returned after reading a sign at a checkpoint that said there’s no guarantee of safety.
After living in camps in southern Shan State without enough food and no work, many people are eager to return to their homes after fleeing multiple times over the last six months.
Fighting between the Pa-O National Liberation Army and regime started in southern Shan State in January.
