Tens of thousands of civilians have fled Myanmar's town following a military confrontation with rebels

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

According to residents and the media, tens of thousands of people have fled a town in western Myanmar after days of conflict between anti-junta dissidents and the military, during which soldiers attacked civilian homes.

Myanmar has been in chaos since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi's government in February, unleashing a countrywide uprising that the junta has tried to put down.

Attacks on junta forces have intensified since MPs expelled by the generals earlier this month called for a "people's defensive war."

 

After being "ambushed" in Thantlang in remote Chin state near the India border on September 18, soldiers fought clashes with roughly 100 members of a local defence group, according to junta spokeswoman Zaw Min Thun.
He didn't say how many people died.

According to one local who did not want to be identified, residents began fleeing on Monday when soldiers "randomly shot out the windows" of residences in the town.

“Almost everyone has fled,” he claimed, adding that he was sheltering with approximately 500 people in a nearby village and that several hundred had already left towards India.
According to the most current census, Thantlang has a population of around 7,500 people.

 

After soldiers bombed her house and fighting erupted throughout the village, another resident said she travelled for three days with her elderly parents to India.

 

“Even when the military attacked my house, I never considered fleeing... but as things worsened, I had no choice but to flee,” she told AFP on condition of anonymity.

 

Approximately 2,000 additional refugees from Chin state have arrived in India's Mizoram state since September 10, according to residents.
Some witnesses claimed to have observed military jets dumping bombs on Chin targets.

Through a translator, a resident of Thingsai hamlet told AFP that on September 10th, locals heard gunfire and bombs across the border.
Villagers, according to another, observed military jets dumping bombs.

 

One refugee who arrived in Mizoram on September 15 said he rode his bike for three days to get there.
“After the blast, we are terrified.
We had no choice but to run.
Two of my children stayed behind to fight the military and protect our people,” said the guy, who did not want to be identified.

Domestic animals roamed lonely streets in videos and photographs released by the media, which claimed the military had demolished buildings in Thantlang.

After the 18 September clash, a fire damaged 20 residences and a government facility, according to military spokeswoman Zaw Min Thun, who did not disclose the cause.

 

Anti-junta fighters have attacked military-owned Mytel communications towers across the country in recent weeks, notably in Chin state.