Thousands of residents of Bhamo town in Kachin State have been fleeing the town after KIA and allied groups attacked the outposts in the town since December 5, residents said.
People from outside the city said that the phone lines in Bhamo were still available until December 6.
“They have been running on Nyaung Pintha and Yay roads since December 6. On December 7, there are more shootings. Big and small shells are also landed wherever they want to fall. The free funeral associations are helping the locals with cars. At least 30 people died. I only know 3 or 4 of them. We cannot use the phone line. People from Momok, Mansi and Aute Chaung are arrived in the city so it is congested with people. Monasteries are full of people. Armed groups have entered the city. They still can't take the big army camps. The outskirts of the city are full of armed groups. The city has been destroyed. It's not easy to restore peace. It's like Lashio,” said a resident.
In addition, the locals fleeing the war said that there is a shortage of boats in Bhamo and they have to wait for hours.
“We have to desert our house and ran away with what we could carry. We will go to Mandalay. Our families and cars are already there. The old people are left in the city. People are panicking. People from outside the city are running into the city. The people of the city are running away from the city. I don't know who to believe in the rumors. The people fleeing the war don't know where to run. I don't know where is safe. They only want to ran away from Bhamo. Thousands of people are starving in this situation,” said a person who fled the war from Bhamo.
The locals said that the KIA and the joint team attacked the small military outposts in places such as Phan Kar Gone, Nyaung Pintha and Bhamo University in Bhamo, and they did not know what the situation was.
After the attack and occupation of Aute Chaung area by the KIA, PDF and AA joint groups from February 17 to February 19, 2024, thousands of refugees from the area and war refugees from Momok and Mansi arrived in Bhamo and now the fighting is occurred in Bhamo so all refugees and locals from Bhamo have to flee the fighting.
