KARENNI STATE – The terrorist junta council’s light infantry battalion (LIB) 422 opened the sluice gates in Mobye Dam, releasing a large amount of water that led to flooding affecting nearly 1,000 displaced people, reported a responsible person from Mobye IDP Committee.
The junta council opened the sluice gates daily starting on July 24 and has continued to do so for three days straight as of July 26.
“The number of people affected by the flood should be between 800 and 1,000. That’s the estimated number for now. The people staying there are mostly displaced people from Mobye and the surrounding villages. There are over 500 displaced households just from Mobye and Whirisupalai Village,” said the responsible person from Mobye IDP Committee.
He shared that the junta council deliberately opened the sluice gates to flood all the paddy fields so the farmers could not harvest the rice.
“Not all displaced people have moved yet. The flood is expected to worsen, so I’d like to advise that they may all need to move. They have to flee from the flood after fleeing the war,” he continued.
Similarly, Karenni State Interim Executive Council (IEC) also issued an emergency flood warning on July 25, mentioning that Mobye based LIB 422 recklessly opened the sluice gates in the early morning on the previous day, causing the water level of Belu Creek to rise by over eight feet and that there is flooding in Mobye Lake, Hparlai Lake, Phayarni Village, Phaungtaw Village and Phayarphyu Village. The IEC also said that it was a deliberate act by the junta council to cause trouble for the local farmers and civilians.
As a consequence, around 1,000 acres of fields along Belu Creek are estimated to have been ruined by the flood and Loikaw City and the surrounding residential wards and villages are also expected to be affected. As such, the IEC alerted the residents of Loikaw and the people living in the lower plains along Belu Creek to take special care and prepare to move to safety when necessary.
The IEC informed that the emergency rescue department and humanitarian assistance and recovery development can be reached at Signal phone numbers +66 951 901 790 and +66 955 751 317 for emergency help.
