Five people were shot dead by military junta troops after attempting to flee a scam compound operated by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) in Min Let Pan Village, south of Myawaddy, according to local sources.
Around 10 Myanmar nationals tried to escape the DKBA-run Chinese online fraud compound on the night of November 21. As gunfire erupted between junta forces and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) near the scam center, the escapees ran toward Ingyin Myaing village. Junta troops fired on them, killing five, a Min Let Pan resident said.
“They were young, around 19 or 20 years old. I saw four bodies, and another person died later at the hospital. The rest may have been hit as well. Some managed to run beyond the KNU gate, but the junta soldiers kept shooting. The road was closed, and they chased them but couldn’t catch them,” the resident said.
Four of the five killed were women working inside the scam compound, according to confirmations from the Karen National Union (KNU).
KNU spokesperson Padoh Saw Taw Nee said the organization was aware of the incident.
“We heard about the shooting. We are not the ones who collected the bodies, so we can’t confirm every detail. But on that day, DKBA forces cooperating with the military junta opened fire, which led us to intervene and take control of the area,” he said.
During the clashes in Min Let Pan, a DKBA column led by Colonel Nai Lwin reportedly assisted the junta’s attacks. In response, KNLA forces stormed and cleared the DKBA position, later taking control of the compound.
The KNLA said that after securing the area, they discovered thousands of workers from various countries confined behind multiple gates and forced to operate online scam operations.
According to a KNU statement, the operation resulted in the detention of more than 200 DKBA personnel and over 2,000 scam workers, along with the seizure of equipment used for online financial fraud.
