Myanmar junta artillery fire on Palaw Township village forcing residents to flee

16 August 2022
Myanmar junta artillery fire on Palaw Township village forcing residents to flee

Local villagers are fleeing the village of Kyaung Nate village due to artillery fire from junta forces, according to local reports.

Local residents say the 285th Infantry Battalion fired heavy weapons at Kyaung Nate village on 13 August at around 11:00 p.m., on this occasion, damaging houses. The village lies in Nangtaung village-tract, Palaw township, Myeik district, Tanintharyi region.

There was no activity by People’s Defence Forces in the area at the time.

A villager from Nangtaung village-tract said, "There are no casualties. Only the houses were burnt due to the military’s artillery.”

Three houses were damaged as a result of the military council's frequent use of artillery. One of the houses hit was that of the former village administrator Min Zaw.

There are approximately 420 houses and a population of nearly 3,000 people in Kyaung Nate village.

Over 2,000 internally displaced people or IDPs have fled their homes in the villages of Palaw Township where the Military Council and the People's Defense Forces frequently clash, according to volunteers operating in the local IDP camps.