Residents of Chaungsauk Village in Kyaikto Township, Mon State, have fled their homes after the military junta carried out airstrikes on the area for two consecutive days, according to local sources.
The airstrikes were conducted on June 18 and 19 in Chaungsauk Village, Kyaukhpyar Village Tract, Kyaikto Township.
According to a statement released by the Karen National Union (KNU), a 38-year-old grocery shop owner, Saw Kyaw Tint, was killed instantly during the June 18 airstrike. His wife, Naw Lu Lu Phaw, was seriously injured, and their grocery store was completely destroyed by fire.
Ground sources also reported that several revolutionary force members were killed or injured in the airstrike on Chaungsauk Village.
The military junta reportedly carried out another airstrike on the village on June 19.
Following the two consecutive days of airstrikes, local residents fled to safer areas due to fears of further aerial attacks.
“People fled because they were afraid of the airstrikes. There is nowhere else to run except into the forest. Since it is the rainy season, we are facing many difficulties,” a local resident said.
Earlier, on June 5, the military junta’s Light Infantry Division No. 44 fired four 120-mm artillery shells toward villages inhabited by civilians in Kyaikto Township.
According to the KNU, one of the shells exploded in a civilian worksite near Ngetpyaw Taw Village, killing a 44-year-old resident from Takaychaunghpyar Village identified as Saw Sein Kalar.
The KNU said the military has continued to target civilian areas with both airstrikes and artillery attacks, causing civilian casualties and damage to homes and property.
