They heard artillery shells exploding near their villages, and they ran.
The individual stories are dreadful: of families killed together in their sleep by exploding artillery shells, of thousands forced from their homes.
When the war finally came to an end two years later, the city, once a cradle of classic 16th century architecture, lay in ruins, pockmarked and shattered from years of heavy artillery shelling.
The deep thud of a 155-millimeter howitzer echoes off the mountains as what looks like an artillery shell speeds from the gun barrel.
One Palaung woman was killed and one Palaung man was seriously wounded by 105mm artillery shells fired by Burmese Army, a front line source said.
When a hospital collapses, or an artillery shell destroys a ward or an ambulance, health staff are killed or injured.
It is not clear how many artillery shells the North fired or how close they were to the disputed Yellow Sea border with South Korea.
Their artillery shelled many targets, and every now and then Japanese planes unloosed their loads of horror.
Only a few centimeters in diameter and invisible to the naked eye, the Avenger's laser is 20 times hotter than an electric stove top and will cut through artillery shells with ease.
The skirmish began at around 2:30 p.m. local time Tuesday when Pyongyang's forces rained artillery shells on Yeonpyeong.
