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On May 24 in Myanmar’s Kachin State, 13-year-old Awng Di walked over to his aunt’s house about noontime to feed her chickens. Thirty minutes later, heavy artillery crashed through the chicken coop; Awng Di died before reaching the nearby clinic.
“Our family has never been involved in politics … We’re just trying to survive,” Awng Di’s mother told Al Jazeera. “Now, I want to curse [the military soldiers] every time I see them.”
Momauk township, where Awng Di was from, has been the site of clashes between the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military, and the Kachin Independence Army, the armed wing of an ethnic armed organisation, since April. The uptick in violence in Momauk and other parts of Kachin State has displaced more than 11,000 people, according to UN estimates.
But what is the “four cuts”?
According to Naw Htoo Htoo of the Karen Human Rights Group, the Tatmadaw began using “four cuts” in the 1960s in an attempt to quell armed resistance in areas under the control of the Karen National Union (KNU), an ethnic armed organisation in Myanmar.
“They targeted every person and village which they thought would have ties with the KNU,” she said. “They fired indiscriminately at Karen villages, destroyed every food and aid item they thought was meant to support the KNU…restricted medical aid in conflict-affected areas, arrested people they suspected of providing aid and food, and arrested their family members…They also used widespread sexual violence and forcibly relocated entire communities.”
On May 24, in Kachin State, Myanmar, at about noon, 13-year-old Awng Di walked to her aunt’s house to feed her chickens. Thirty minutes later, the heavy artillery penetrated the chicken coop; Awng Di died before reaching the nearby clinic.
“Our family has never been involved in politics… we just want to survive,” Awng Di’s mother told Al Jazeera. “Now, I want to curse [the military soldiers] Every time I see them. “
Since April, the town of Momauk where Awng Di is located has been the site of clashes between the armed forces of the Myanmar Army and the Kachin Independence Army (the armed faction of ethnic armed groups). According to United Nations estimates, the escalation of violence in Momauk and other areas of Kachin State has resulted in the displacement of more than 11,000 people.
On May 24 in the Kachin state of Myanmar, 13-year-old Awng Di went to her aunt’s house at noon to feed her chickens. Thirty minutes later, heavy artillery fell on the henhouse; Awng Di died before arriving at the nearby clinic.
“Our family has never been involved in politics … We are trying to survive,” Awng Di’s mother told Al Jazeera. “Now, I want to curse [the military soldiers] every time I see them “.
There have been clashes between Momauk municipality, which originated in Awng Di, since Tatmadaw, the Myanmar army and the Kachin Independence Army, the armed wing of an armed ethnic organization, since April. According to UN estimates, the rise in violence in Momau and other parts of Kachin State has displaced more than 11,000 people.