According to local sources, ongoing exchanges of heavy artillery fire between junta and forces in Kyondoe town and surrounding villages in Kawkareik Township, Kayin State, have resulted in civilian casualties.
Joint forces from the resistance movement launched heavy artillery attacks on military junta bases stationed in Kyondoe town, including the 545th and 546th Light Infantry Battalions, as well as other nearby outposts. In response, junta forces are retaliating with heavy weapons.
According to residents of Kyondoem on the morning of May 19th, junta forces fired heavy artillery toward the Kyunkalay village area near Kyondoe town. As a result, a displaced schoolteacher who had returned home to check on his house was struck by the shelling and killed.
“Around Kyondoe, as the gunfire slightly calmed, people began returning to check on their homes. Many displaced individuals have been coming and going like that. Yesterday, a schoolteacher from Kyunkalay village was killed by artillery shelling while returning home to inspect his house. Some say he was riding a motorcycle when a shell exploded nearby,” said a male resident of Kyondoe.
Resistance forces launched an attack on military junta bases along the Kyondoe–Kawkareik road in mid-April, marking the beginning of ongoing clashes in the area.
Following the outbreak in fighting, the military junta deliberately carried out a series of targeted attacks on nearby villages using aerial bombings and heavy artillery fire.
Resistance forces have been launching attacks, including artillery strikes and drone assaults, against military junta bases such as the outposts.
“At present, we have been able to continuously attack and seize the junta’s military camps along the Kawkareik-Kyondoe road. The junta forces cannot launch offensives; they are only maintaining defensive positions. That’s why they are now randomly shelling from Kyondoe using heavy artillery. We are also responding with counterattacks. At this point, there are very few junta camps left along that route,” said a resistance fighter active in the Kawkareik area.
Heavy artillery exchanges between the junta troops and the resistance forces have struck villages, causing civilian casualties and damage to homes.
In the Kyondoe area, tensions remain high. The junta has been deliberately carrying out airstrikes and heavy artillery attacks not only on basic education schools and religious buildings but also on villages where no clashes have occurred.
