The Progressive Karenni People Force (PKPF) reported on March 1, that 19 civilians including internally displaced persons (IDPs), lost their lives in Karenni state during the two months leading up to February 28, 2023. Among them are 13 civilians and 6 IDPs, most of whom were killed by artillery shells fired by the Military Council, a PKPF official said.
“ The 13 people were killed by artillery shells fired by the Military Council. There were one or two people arrested and killed by the Military Council. Most of them died after being hit by artillery shells,” he said.
On February 27, 2 civilians were killed and 6 were wounded in Demoso township due to artillery
shells fired by the Military Council. Similarly, artillery shells fired from Pekon-based military council troops hit the villages of Mobye and Pekon west side, injuring 2 people.
An information officer from the Demoso People’s Defense Force said that “randomly shelling civilian areas can cause trauma. If you shoot in battle and your comrades are hit, you feel sad but you can console yourself. But when there is no battle, we can define it as deliberate shooting intended to traumatize and intimidate the people.”
According to the list obtained by Kantarawaddy Times, during the month of February, 3 people
were killed and 11 people, including a two-and-a-half-year-old child, were injured as a result of the Military Council’s artillery shells hitting the Shan-Karenni border and Karenni state.
A statement released by the PKPF on March 1, from February 1 2021 – February 28, 2023, a total of 439 civilians, including those who perished while fleeing the conflict, lost their lives in Karenni state.
