Fighting broke out between Military Council troops and People’s Defence Forces lasting a whole day in Loikaw's Mong Lone ward, Karenni State with both sides suffering deaths, according to the Karenni Democratic Front (KDF).

Four civilians were killed, two were wounded and one was coalition force fighter was killed in a clash between local people's defense forces and the Military Council on January 7 starting at around 6 am.

"Three men were shot dead near the railway line in Loikaw this morning. Military soldiers were hiding in the eleven story building near the railway and also stationed along the Government Technological College (GTC) campus. The clash was fierce. There was constant firing at us from the building. Both sides have casualties,” the information officer from the Karenni Democratic Front - KDF said.

At around 4.30 pm, a Military Council helicopter flew over Mong Lone ward where fighting intensified for about 20 minutes.

“The people who are still trapped in the clash area are being evacuated. The Military Council is attacking people's homes as a priority, and the People's Defense Forces are trying to protect them to the end,” according to the KDF.

The operation was conducted by rebel groups from Karenni State such as Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), Karenni Democratic Front - KDF, Democratic Front - KDF, Generation Z (GZ - 21), Karenni Army (KA), Dimorso PDF and other local people’s defense forces.

"The fighting has intensified on a daily basis, so we want to request to provide arms and ammunition to our revolutionary forces in Karenni State," the information officer from the Karenni Democratic Front - KDF said.

Artillery shells fired by the Military Council hit a house in Mong Lone Ward, Loikaw Township this morning and a 30-year-old man was killed and his four family members were injured.