Aid workers told DVB that over 40,000 residents were forced to flee their homes in Pekon town of southern Shan State and Nanmekhon town of Demoso Township, in neighbouring Karenni State, due to a regime counteroffensive which began on July 24.
Zayyar Tun, a member of the charity group Clean Yangon, told DVB that they were still helping residents evacuate their homes on July 28. Pekon is located 19 miles (30 km) north of Nanmekhon, which is located nine miles (km) west of the Karenni State capital Loikaw.
Regime forces reportedly reached Payarni village, 13 miles (20 km) north of Nanmekhon, on July 25. Nanmekhon residents told DVB that the evacuation is disrupting the upcoming planting season.
Banyar Aung, the Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC) second secretary, told DVB that the rain has made evacuations more challenging and that there is a need for water-resistant tarpaulin for temporary shelters.
The anti-regime Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO) announced on July 27 that the Myanmar Air Force carried out four airstrikes near its headquarters in Hsihseng Township, southern Shan, on July 26. No casualties were reported. Hsihseng is located 53 miles (85 km) south of the Shan State capital Taunggyi.
A three mile (4.5 km) long stretch of road connecting Pinlaung in southern Shan to Loikaw came under regime control following the recapture of Moebye town in Pekon Township from resistance forces on July 2. Moebye is located 100 miles (160 km) south of Taunggyi and 11 miles (17 km) north of Loikaw.
The IEC stated on July 9 that three civilians, including a four-year-old, were killed by airstrikes on July 7. It claimed that regime airstrikes have killed 33 civilians and injured 94 others in Karenni since January.
Resistance forces claim full control over six towns in Karenni, including Mese on the Myanmar-Thailand border. The regime controls Loikaw, Bawlakhe and Hpasawng, where the remaining regime outpost is under “siege” by the resistance.
