Karen rebels have accused the Myanmar military of deploying “excessive force”, saying on Saturday that continuous air strikes have displaced more than 12,000 unarmed civilians, including children.
The Karen National Union (KNU) late last month seized a military base in eastern Kayin state, killing 10 army officers. The junta retaliated with air strikes.
The KNU has been a vocal opponent of the military junta — which ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi two months ago — and said it is sheltering hundreds of anti-coup activists.
On Saturday, the KNU condemned the use of “excessive force by engaging in non-stop bombing and air strikes” from March 27-30, which have “caused the deaths of many people including children”.
“The air strikes have also led to the further displacement of more than 12,000 people who have fled their villages and caused a major humanitarian crisis.”
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said the military has only been targeting the KNU 5th Brigade — which led the seizure of the military base and killed officers.
“We had an air strike on that day only,” he told AFP.
“We have signed a nationwide ceasefire agreement. ... If they follow the NCA, there is no reason for conflict to happen,” Zaw Min Tun said.
Ethnic Karen media and rights groups have reported multiple bombings and air strikes across the state over recent days.
About 3,000 people fled to neighbouring Thailand on Monday, crossing the Salween River to seek shelter. But most returned to Myanmar by Wednesday, which Thailand claimed was “voluntary”.
Fighting has also flared in the north between the army and ethnic Kachin insurgents. The turmoil has sent several thousand refugees fleeing into Thailand and India.
Meanwhile, the Shan State Refugee Committee has issued a statement saying it is “gravely concerned” for the safety of nearly 6,000 internally displaced people in camps along the southern Shan State-Thai border, following the Tatmadaw’a announcement that it will start attacking border positions of the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army.
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Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power on Feb 1, triggering a massive uprising across the country with protesters demanding the restoration of the elected government.
Information flow in the country has also been throttled, with the junta cutting WiFi services, mobile data and imposing a nightly internet blackout.
The military is also stepping up its efforts to crush dissent with arrest warrants for online critics.
Authorities issued warrants for 18 celebrities, including social media influencers and two journalists, under a law against material intended to cause a member of the armed forces to mutiny or disregard their duty, state media reported late on Friday.
All of them are known to oppose military rule. The charge can carry a prison term of three years.
Actress Paing Phyoe Thu said she would not be cowed.
“Whether a warrant has been issued or not, as long as I’m alive I’ll oppose the military dictatorship who are bullying and killing people. The revolution must prevail,” she said on Facebook.
Paing Phyoe Thu regularly attended rallies in the main city of Yangon in the weeks after the coup. Her whereabouts were not immediately known.
The state broadcaster MRTV announced the warrants for the 18 with screenshots and links to their Facebook profiles.
While the military has banned platforms like Facebook, it has continued to use social media to track critics and promote its message.
MRTV maintains a YouTube channel and shares links to its broadcasts on Twitter, both of which are officially banned.
On Saturday, five people were killed when security forces opened fire on protests in three locations, a protester and media said.
Despite the killing of more than 550 people by the security forces since Feb 1, protesters continue to come out every day, often in smaller groups in smaller towns.
Security forces in the central town of Monywa fired on a crowd killing thee people, the Myanmar Now news service said, while one man was shot and killed in another central town, Bago, and one in Thaton to the south, the Bago Weekly Journal online news portal reported.
“They started firing non-stop with both stun grenade and live rounds,” the protester in Monywa, who asked not to be named, told Reuters via a messaging app. “People backed off and quickly put up … barriers, but a bullet hit a person in front of me in the head. He died on the spot.”
Police and a spokesman for the junta did not answer telephone calls seeking comment.