Hundreds of monks fled their monasteries in eastern Myanmar to avoid violent clashes between the army and rebel groups opposed to the military junta, witnesses told AFP on Sunday.
In Loikaw, in Kayah state, about 30 monasteries were abandoned, and their occupants left the city aboard dozens of trucks, one of them told AFP, asking not to be identified.
Many monks also fled from the town of Demoso, a few kilometers away, he added.
For several days, these two cities, located 200 km east of the Burmese capital, Naypyidaw, have been the scene of intense fighting between rebels and military forces. The army launched air attacks and fired artillery.
The UN estimates that half of Loikaw’s population was forced from their homes and that around 90,000 people from Kayah state fled. The local press mentions more than 170,000 displaced people.
In Loikaw, rebel fighters raided abandoned churches and homes. They also forced access to a prison to try to incite detainees to join them, a local police official said.
Myanmar has been mired in chaos and violence since the February 1, 2021 military coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi and ended a decade of democratic transition.
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