December 12, 2024

WEEKLY SUMMARY

Rangers providing medical care to an injured Burma Army soldier.

Fighting rages in Burma as the Burma Army loses two camps, Rangers respond with medical treatment and aid

Thanks all of you who pray and help the people under attack in Burma, Syria, Iraq, Tajikistan and Ukraine. We thank God for you. As you read these reports please know we are grateful to have you in this with us.

This week the Burma Army attacked civilians and clashed with resistance groups, using artillery,  airstrikes, and drone strikes in Karen and southern Shan States. However, the Burma Army continues to lose territory, losing two military camps to the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) in Karen State. Rangers provided medical aid and supplies to displaced civilians in Karen, Karenni, and southern Shan States. The violence continues to cause numerous civilian casualties and displacement.

NORTHERN KAREN STATE

Left: A child injured by Burma Army 120 mm attack in Lin Bin Village.

Right: A villager Injured by Burma Army 120 mm attack in Thaung Bu Village.

Top: A child injured by Burma Army 120 mm  attack in Lin Bin Village.

Bottom: A villager Injured by Burma Army 120 mm attack in Thaung Bu Village.

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The Burma military, attacked civilians and resistance groups with 120 mm mortars and small arms  in Kler Lwe Htoo District; meanwhile, the KNLA seized two Burma Army camps in Mu Traw District.

The Burma Army harmed four civilians and attacked KNLA and People’s Defense Forces (PDF) in Kler Lwe Htoo District. In Ler Doh Township, Burma Army shelled 120 mm mortars into Lin Bin Village, on Dec. 4, injuring two civilians including a 7-year-old child. On Dec. 7, the Burma Army attacked KNLA and PDF in Yin Pyu Ka (Hsaw Htee Township) with no reports of casualties. The next day, the Burma Army from Na Tha Gwein fired 120 mm mortars into Thaung Bu Village, Ler Doh Township, on Dec. 8, severely injuring two villagers.

The KNLA seized two Burma military camps after intense fighting in Mu Traw District. On Dec. 2, combined troops of KNLA attacked Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 406 under Military Operation Command (MOC) 8 and seized their camp in Dwe Loh Township. Six Burma Army soldiers died during the fighting and another 30 Burma Army soldiers, including the commander, surrendered to the KNLA. Between Taw Thon Lo and Htee Chaw Mae camp, there was an armed clash between KNLA and Burma Army on Dec. 7, resulting in one KNLA soldier and one Burma Army soldier injured. The KNLA attacked and seized Burma Army’s Htee Chaw Mae camp and burned it down. On Dec. 8, the Burma Army clashed with KNLA around Taw Thon Lo and then on Dec. 9, they clashed again at this location, with no casualties reported. 

CENTRAL KAREN STATE

Left: Rangers help build a medical tent to treat frontline casualties.

Right: A woman and her two children injured from a Burma Army mortar strike in Doo Tha Htoo District.

Top: Rangers help build a medical tent to treat frontline casualties.

Bottom: A woman and her two children injured from a Burma Army mortar strike in Doo Tha Htoo District.

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The Burma Army launched artillery strikes in Dooplaya and Doo Tha Htoo districts, resulting in civilian casualties. Meanwhile, Ranger teams responded by providing encouragement, medical care, and food to IDPs affected by the fighting.

In Dooplaya District, Rangers focused their response around the fighting at Annan Kwin camp, which has been encircled by the resistance forces since early August of 2024. The Burma Army fired a 122 mm shell near a Ranger team on Dec. 3, in Kaw T’ree Township, but did not cause any casualties. The Rangers were helping build field medical tents to treat trauma patients from the frontline area. The same day, Rangers distributed rice bags to IDPs near Noh Chu Neh Village, who had been displaced from fighting at Annan Kwin Camp. On Dec. 4, at Noh Chu Nen Village, a Burma military Y-12 aircraft paradropped supply packages and a drone jammer to their soldiers at Annan Kwin camp after attempts by the Burma Army to break through and relieve them. Tha KNLA and resistance forces successfully retrieved some of the supply packages. Later, the Burma Army and Cobra Column clashed in Kaw T’ree Township on Dec. 5, and the fighting resumed the next morning.

In Doo Tha Htoo District, the Burma Army Artillery Battalion 310 launched 120 mm mortars into a rubber farm in the vicinity of Kha Yawe and Win Kan Villages (Kyaikto Township) on Dec. 1, injuring a woman and two children.

Please pray for the well-being of the IDPs affected by the situation at Annan Kwin camp, the safety of our Ranger teams, and the victims of the Burma Army mortar strike.

More about central Karen State

KARENNI STATE AND SOUTHERN SHAN STATE

Left: Medical evacuation of a wounded soldier.

Right: Rangers distributing hygiene items.

Top: Medical evacuation of a wounded soldier.

Bottom: Rangers distributing hygiene items.

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In Karenni State and southern Shan State, Rangers evacuated wounded soldiers and provided supplies to IDPs in the midst of Burma Army attacks against civilians and on-going fighting with the resistance forces.

In southern Shan State, a team of Rangers provided critical medical support by evacuating nine wounded pro-democracy soldiers from a battlefield on Nov. 25 near Khaung Mai Village, in Pekon Township. On Dec. 9, the Burma Army attacked civilians with drone munitions at the Lar Quen IDP camp, located in Khaung Mai Village, Pekon Township. This attack resulted in one man killed, and five additional people wounded. One of the women who was injured had to be evacuated to a nearby medical clinic due to severe injuries to her head and back.

In Karenni State on Dec. 3, a team of Rangers delivered a shipment of personal hygiene supplies to IDPs at the Do Shat IDP Camp in Hpruso Township.

SYRIA

Above: Photos of IDPs fleeing the fall of the regime as their villages and cities are under attack.

Above: Photos of IDPs fleeing the fall of the regime as their villages and cities are under attack.

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Thank you for continuing to pray for the people of Syria. The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad has been overthrown by radical Islamic forces, leading to widespread displacement. Hundreds of thousands, including many Kurds, are fleeing to northeastern Syria. We are praying and doing our best to support them.

Thousands of people from Aleppo’s al-Shahba, Tal Rifaat, and Sheikh Maqsoud regions have sought refuge in cities like Tabqa and Raqqa. Many are housed in schools or large tents in stadiums, but countless others remain on the streets, exposed to the winter cold without basic shelter. Among the displaced are children, elderly individuals, and people with disabilities.

Local estimates suggest that up to 150,000 people may be displaced, with 10,000 already in Tabqa and many more arriving in Raqqa. While buses and limited medical aid have been provided, resources are insufficient to meet the overwhelming need. Only three international organizations are currently assisting, and local efforts, though heroic, are struggling to keep up.

Critical needs include:

• Shelter tents and blankets

• Food packages

• Diapers and hygiene supplies

• Medicines for chronic conditions

Please pray for peace in Syria, these families and their safe return home.

Update on Syria: Letter from David Eubank

TAJIKISTAN

Group of Afghan men being detained and deported after being grabbed from the streets. 

Tajik authorities have begun forcibly deporting Afghan men over the past four days, leaving many stranded near the Afghan border and raising urgent concerns for their safety and well-being.

For the past four days, the Tajik authorities have been rounding up Afghan men from the streets and deporting them.

The reasons for these actions remain unclear, but many deported individuals have been left at the Afghan border near Sherkhan, a town close to Kunduz.

Please be in prayer for these families.

www.freeburmarangers.org