Over 600 evacuated as Myanmar military fights anti-coup forces

PEKON, Myanmar: Hundreds of Myanmar families were being uprooted from their homes on Saturday, a community organiser said, piling their belongings onto evacuation convoys to escape fighting between the military and anti-coup guerrillas.

Myanmar has been consumed by a many-sided civil war since the military snatched power in a 2021 coup, leaving more than 3.5 million people displaced according to United Nations figures.

Heavy combat has been raging since Monday around the village of Saung Nang Khae in the eastern state of Shan, according to locals and evacuation organisers.