Pasaung Burns as Burma Airstrikes and Bombs Rain Down

1 March 2024

Pasaung, Karenni State, Burma

Dear friends and family,

Thank you for praying for us. In Pasaung, southern Karenni State, there is daily fighting between the Burma military and the resistance. Over 1000 villagers were trapped but, working together with the Karenni National Defense Force (KNDF) and Karenni Army, we were able to get them out. There are still a few hundred being used as human shields by the military. Those who escaped told us that the Burma Army had threatened them with death if they tried to leave, and that they would be used to protect the Burma military. They were terrified to try to leave but some eventually made a break for it. Some of the evacuations were under indirect and direct fire.

On the day of this report, 1 March, there were multiple airstrikes, as well as bombings by the Burma Army in the town of Pasaung, setting parts of this town on fire. This is the military attacking people again and again, every day, all over Burma. Fortunately, we were able to get most people out and treat one young seven-year-old girl who was wounded in the back by shrapnel. She will be OK. There were other wounded as well, including one man who was hit multiple times and sustained life-threatening injuries, but our surgeons saved him.  Yesterday we had 12 wounded and one killed.

Also, as we were evacuating the villagers, many Burma Army landmines were found and cleared. Below is a picture of one of them: an MM2 landmine. The Burma military has laid hundreds of landmines in Pasaung, as they often do in the places that they occupy. Today, as we were getting ready for this mission, I was reminded again to pray for our enemies and pray for the military. So we do, that their hearts would change and they would stop attacking – and that those who will not change would not be able to win. We keep praying for them, and our own hearts. On this mission we have done blood transfusions at the front line, from our Rangers to resistance soldiers and also our Rangers to wounded Burma military – giving blood to the enemy. We pray that this makes a difference somehow for good. Thank you for praying for us and these people. Thank you for all the ways you help us that enable us to help here.

Thank you and God bless you,

Dave, family, and FBR