Lay Kay Kaw

With the support of Nippon Foundation,[7] Lay Kay Kaw was built in 2015 as a cooperation between the then-chief minister of Kayin State, Zaw Min, and KNU's chairperson, Saw Mutu Say Poe.[8] Divided into six quarters, it has a population of more than 3000.[6] Despite administration of the Kayin State Government, the town has been controlled de facto[9] by the KNU for six years.[10]

Since February, anti-coup protesters and those who joined the civil disobedience movement came to Lay Kay Kaw to evade the military.[11] After the military conducted a search in the town in 14 December,[12] clashes broke out between the military and local armed groups the next day.[13] At least 2500 local villagers[14][15] fled to Mae Sot, border town in Thailand.[16] After a shell landed in a sugarcane plantation, and a small fire broke out, Thai authorities, through Thai–Myanmar Border Committee, issued a warning that "it was prepared to retaliate if stray artillery shells landed on Thai soil",[9][17] and Thai armed forces were deployed in the border area.[18] On 20 December, KNU urged the UN and international community to establish the area as a no-fly zone.[19]