Thousands Of Civilians Trapped In Cities, UN Human Rights Envoy Urges Myanmar Military Regime To Stop Attacks

Illustration of residents evacuating victims of clashes with troops from the Myanmar military regime. (Twitter/@UNHumanRights)

JAKARTA - Myanmar's military must halt attacks on the town of Loikaw and lift the blockade on those trying to flee, a UN human rights investigator said Monday, as a shaken resident described continued shelling and air strikes in the area.

Loikaw is the capital of Myanmar's eastern Kayah state, which borders Thailand and has seen heavy fighting between the army and rebel groups who opposed last year's coup.

Since last week, the military has launched airstrikes and fired artillery shells into the city, forcing several thousand residents to flee, according to a resident and media reports.

In a message on Twitter, Thomas Andrews, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said military ruler Senior General Min Aung Hlaing "should immediately stop the air and ground attacks carried out by the junta forces in Loikaw" citing Reuters, Jan 10.

The blockade preventing people from fleeing the area should also be lifted and humanitarian aid allowed in, he said.

Illustration of Myanmar security forces. (Wikimedia Commons/Maung Sun)

A spokesman for the military junta did not answer a call for comment. Meanwhile, a resident in Loikaw said fighting on the outskirts of the city made it very difficult to escape.

"I was just mentally preparing that I might die," said the resident, who asked not to be named for security reasons.

Residents said some people on vehicles or motorbikes managed to get out, but many others including the elderly or sick were unable to leave.

A staff member at Shwe Loikaw, an aid group in the area, estimates two-thirds of the population is trying to escape.

About 2,000 people were evacuated on Saturday and Sunday. We evacuated them together with the Red Cross. Almost half of the city has fled the fighting. Although the fighting took place in Mong Lone, Pan Kan and Ywa Tan Shae, people from other parts of the city also fled in fear," a charity worker told The Irrawaddy.

Illustration of Myanmar civilian refugees. (Twitter/@MinoritiesB)

People who remain in the city are staying in their homes, and businesses are also closing, he said. While his group helped evacuate the displaced to the church, many others had also left the city alone, he said.

"People don't come out because helicopters fly. The city is deserted. Those who couldn't escape in time remain in their homes. But we evacuate people at their request. We pick them up at their homes when they call us," he added.

The Myanmar Now news portal at the weekend quoted rebel groups as saying four civilians had been killed in the town.

Separately in a statement, the Karenni National Defense Forces (KNDF), one of the main opposition forces in the area, said its members had shot down an army helicopter and killed about 30 soldiers in Loikaw. It was later said that another 8 soldiers had died in the nearby town of Demoso. Reuters could not independently confirm the claims.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military toppled the elected government of Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi last February, sparking months of protests and a bloody crackdown.

Since the coup, more than 1,400 people have been killed and more than 11,000 arrested in an attempt by security forces to quell the protests, according to a tally by rights group Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners (AAPP). However, the military denied the group's death toll.

To date, no group has issued reliable estimates of the number of people killed in fighting between rebel groups and the military.

Myanmar Coup. The VOI editorial team continues to monitor the political situation in one of the ASEAN member countries. Casualties from civilians continue to fall. Readers can follow the news covering the Myanmar military coup by clicking this link.