The military junta is reportedly firing heavy artilleries and destroying religious buildings inside Loikaw town in Karenni State.
The junta troops are often firing heavy weapons on the Shwe Let War hill near the southern Thirimingalar ward, the University of Technology, in Loikaw, since the beginning of February, becoming to destroy the fingers of Shwe Let War Pagoda Statue, according to a resident of Loikaw town.
He said, “The fingers of Shwe Let War Pagoda Statue will be destroyed to hit by the junta’s artillereis. Now some pagodas and statue fingers are damaged and cracked.”
A member of the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) on the ground said that the fighting inside Loikaw town is going on every day, and the junta troops are strating with an offensive attack since February 25.
“The fighting inside Loikaw is happening every day. Now, the fighting has restrated in Pankan, Mailone, Lawdhama, and Shwetaung. There are still no areial bombardments from February 26 until today, and only heavy artilleries have been fired. In the he second week of this month, about 60 bombs were dropped by scout planes. It was not a jet fighter, so it was not very intense,” he said.
Loikaw town is reportedly now like a ruined town due to the shelling and bombing by the military junta.
“Loikaw town was bombed by airplanes. They also fire randomly with heavy weapons. Last month, they (junta) dropped firebombs with drones. A fierce fighting happened inside Loikaw on February 26. The Yadana Thiri monastery and religious buildings near my house were also destroyed by the junta’s heavy weapons. All the monks in the monastery are fleeing from war. The fire burning happened in front of the shop at the top of the bridge in Shanpi Ward due to heavy weapons, and it took for a long time,” he said.
Currently, the resistance forces are actively fighting in order to completely capture of Loikaw town.