Irrawaddy-Nov 23
Residents who have fled the fighting in Kayah State capital Loikaw say they are gravely concerned about the safety of those left behind as well as the fate of the town as fighting between junta and resistance troops for control of Loikaw intensifies. Volunteers are urging residents to flee Loikaw, saying the situation is deteriorating at an alarming rate. “Communication lines have been cut off. Water is not available due to power outages. We also can’t find fuel,” one volunteer said. “The General Hospital was shut down about two days ago [and] some patients were transported to Taunggyi by volunteers,” he added. Fighting continues to rage in Loikaw, but some key locations are now under resistance control, according to the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF). The KNDF, Karenni Army and Karenni National People’s Liberation Front launched a joint offensive on November 11 – Operation 11.11 – to drive junta troops from the state capital. A Loikaw resident who fled to southern Shan state said she worries about her parents who insisted on staying at their home in Loikaw’s Law Dhamma ward, a two-minute drive to downtown where intense fighting continues. “Clashes are breaking out in the downtown areas. We want to make sure that my parents are safe, but we could not contact them,” she said. She and her two siblings fled Loikaw town on Wednesday morning and are taking refuge in Nyaung Shwe Township in southern Shan State. A resident of Law Da Ma ward said hundreds of people are sheltering in a community hall in the ward. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/battle-for-control-of-myanmar-state-capital-escalating-at-alarming-rate.html
