The Karen National Union (KNU) reported that during the junta’s declared ceasefire period, the military council carried out 110 attacks targeting civilians in KNU-controlled areas, resulting in the deaths of 20 people.
Between April 2 and April 22, while the junta had unilaterally declared a ceasefire, it conducted repeated attacks against civilians in KNU’s Kawthoolei administrative territories, including airstrikes, artillery shelling, arson of civilian properties, landmine deployment, and arbitrary arrests, according to KNU.
The military council conducted 63 airstrikes using fighter jets, helicopters, and drones during this period. As a result, 14 civilians and one Karen resistance fighter were killed, while two monks, one senior Karen official, and 34 civilians were injured. Additionally, five monasteries and seven houses were damaged or destroyed by the attacks.
The junta forces also carried out 43 artillery attacks, resulting in the deaths of five civilians and injuries to 18 others, as well as the destruction of 16 houses. Moreover, it was reported that junta troops committed arson once, burning down four houses and one pagoda.
The KNU further stated that the junta forces arbitrarily arrested two civilians and that two more civilians were injured by landmines planted by the military.
Although the junta announced a ceasefire, the KNU said it was a strategic move to secure humanitarian aid from international organizations while continuing military operations, mainly targeting villages and towns under the control of resistance groups through persistent airstrikes and artillery attacks.
