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July 3, 2025 |
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A Burma Army bombing destroys an elementary school in Karen State. |
Rangers Provide Aid and Critical Relief as Violence Intensifies |
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Last week, Rangers provided medical care to over 2,600 displaced people across Karen, Karenni, and Shan states, supported ethnic governments with aid and casualty evacuation, and delivered critical aid to IDPs amid ongoing Burma Army attacks. In a recent visit to Kurdistan and northeast Syria, an FBR team encouraged refugee women, prayed with grieving families, and shared the love of Christ with those suffering. |
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Villagers prepare to bury a woman killed by a Burma Army bombing. |
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In Ler Doh Township of Kler Lwe Htoo District, on June 25, over 200 Burma Army soldiers arrived in Toe Ta Dah Village to resupply, and they clashed with resistance forces in the area. The next day, Burma Army troops arrived in Ko Myit Tha where two separate clashes occurred against resistance soldiers, involving the following Burma Army units: Light Infantry Division (LID) 77, Infantry Battalion (IB) 57, and Battalion 350. The troops then positioned themselves along both sides of the road between Thaseik and Ko Myit Tha.
That same day, Burma Army IB 264 arrived at Taung K Village and fired three rounds of 120mm mortar at the village. Two of the shells landed outside the village, while one struck the home of a family. The explosion injured three family members, including a seven-year-old girl, and damaged their house. On June 27, another bomb was dropped via drone by the Burma Army, damaging a school for young children in Tha Min Inn Gon Village. The next day, June 28, the Burma Army used a jet to bomb Hay Tha Wei Village, injuring three villagers. On June 29, at 1600 hours, the Burma Army launched another 120mm at Nwa Yin Chaung Village, damaging a house.
In Hsaw Htee Township, on June 28, IB 264 of the Burma Army fired a 120mm mortar into Cho Inn Village, which landed on the house of Daw Tin Tin, a 74-year-old woman, and instantly killed her.
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Smiles as supplies are distributed to IDPs in Karen State. |
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In Kaw T’ree Township, Dooplaya District, Rangers distributed tourniquets, shirts, and other supplies to frontline resistance soldiers near Ukereithta and Mawtu villages on June 25, while medics treated villagers, including a pregnant woman and a migrant worker injured by a fishhook. The same day, clashes with the Burma Army near Nger Tine Village left one Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) soldier wounded, who was treated and transported by Ranger medics. On June 27, between Yay Pu Gyi and Kawt Koi villages, clashes occurred between the Burma Army and KNLA and their allies. Rangers later treated cases of malaria and a viper snakebite. On June 28, Ranger medics provided assistance to nearby villagers in Mawtu, while five howitzer shells landed in farmland near the village.
Continuing operations in Kaw T’ree Township, Dooplaya District, Rangers worked to deliver supplies and critical aid. On June 29, Rangers delivered food, tarpaulins, and other supplies to an IDP camp in Win Pya Village, conducted medical checkups for KNLA, Karen National Defence Organization (KNDO), and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) troops, as well as medical checkups for Maw Hta villagers. In the evening, five artillery shells fired from the Burma Army struck farmland near Maw Hta, damaging crops and shelters, though no one was injured. On June 30, in Mawtu Village, Rangers distributed mosquito nets to 126 IDP families and treated five patients with various conditions.
On June 27 in Hpa-An District, a 22-year-old resistance soldier, Saw Nay Htoo, was shot and killed by a Burma Army sniper while in the village, a battlefield between the Burma Army and resistance forces.
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Ranger medics prepare to transport an injured soldier. |
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On June 24, the Burma Army fired 120mm artillery and wounded three soldiers near a Ranger team position. This was followed by a drone strike of more 120mm artillery later in the day that damaged several FBR items, including rice pots, a smartphone, and solar equipment. On June 27, resistance forces engaged the Burma Army in Thee Kho Village, during which a Karen Nationalities Police Force (KNPF) member stepped on a Burma Army landmine and lost his leg. Ranger medics provided first aid and took him to receive further care. On June 28, the Burma Army attacked the Kawthoolei Army (KTLA) and allied forces in their position, resulting in one KTLA soldier injured and one killed. |
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GLC students in Nan Aye Kone Village. |
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Rangers conducted a GLC program on June 17 in Nan Aye Kone Village, and Ranger medics treated 70 patients at the same time. On June 21, Rangers organized GLC programs for IDPs in Li Woe Village, where 448 IDPs received medical care, and in Daw Roh Khu Village on June 23. On June 25 in Hpaswang Township, fighting broke out between Burma military and resistance troops. During the fighting, Ranger teams collaborated with local medics and treated over 150 casualties at multiple frontline casualty collection points (CCPs). More than 20 resistance soldiers lost their lives in this battle. |
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Rangers treating the IDPs in Nown Line Village. |
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On June 15 and 16, Rangers provided medical treatment on the frontline and treated 14 resistance soldiers in Moebye Township. The attack resulted in six deaths among Karenni resistance forces and left 47 others injured, and unknown casualties on the Burma Army side. On June 19, at the same CCP, Rangers treated two more patients injured by landmines.
On June 13, in Nown Line Village, Rangers conducted a GLC program with 498 IDPs and treated 100 IDPs at a medical clinic. Later, on June 20, Rangers did a GLC program in Western Moebye Township for over 2,000 IDPs, and provided a clinic there as well. |
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Women in a Syrian Kurdish refugee camp use sewing to empower others and support their families. |
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During a recent visit in June to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, our team—including local partners and a visiting FBR family—had several impactful encounters. One highlight was a visit to a Syrian Kurdish refugee camp where a group of women have formed a sewing circle to teach others income-generating skills. The team was able to listen to their stories, pray with them, and encourage their efforts. Also, while visiting a local home during Eid, the team met a woman who was gravely ill and bedridden. With the family’s permission, the FBR team prayed in Jesus’ name. The entire Muslim family responded with openness and respect. Another special moment occurred unexpectedly at a riverbank, where a crowd had gathered as rescue personnel searched for a 7-year-old boy who had gone missing four days earlier. The team located the grieving family and was welcomed to pray with the grandmother and aunts, offering comfort and hope through Jesus.
Our local teams in Iraq and Syria are currently working to secure visas for two internally displaced Syrian families for medical travel, as both have children in urgent need of heart transplants. |
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