Civilians killed, injured in Kawkareik fighting

By DMG 21 Oct 2022

DMG Newsroom
21 October 2022, Kawkareik, Kayin State

Civilian casualties were reported in heavy fighting between junta troops and the combined forces of Karen armed groups and resistance groups in Kayin (Karen) State’s Kawkareik Township on Friday. A civilian was killed, and three others were seriously injured by junta artillery strikes, according to locals.

Clashes broke out at the district police force office near the town toll gate and inter-departmental administration office in the town, said residents of Ka Nein Mu Ward.

“The fighting is taking place on the outskirts of the town,” a resident of Ka Nein Mu told DMG on Friday morning.

The Myanmar military’s Infantry Battalion No. 79 and Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)-led resistance forces were engaged in fighting, said another Kawkareik resident.

“The fighting started around 7 [o’clock]. I still hear shelling and aerial bombings. My house even shook,” he told DMG at around 11 a.m.

Some houses were struck by junta mortar shells. A 30-year-old man was killed, and a 40-year-old woman and two 30-year-old men were seriously injured, according to locals.

“A hawker was hit and killed by an artillery strike. Three others suffered serious injuries, and were sent to the hospital,” said a resident of Yaynansigon Ward.

Locals also reported aerial bombings by the regime, which damaged some 10 houses in Ka Nein Mu and No. 10 wards, said residents.