Displaced persons returning to town of Hsihseng hit by junta artillery fire

Eight internally displaced persons (IDPs) were injured by junta artillery fire on Monday as they returned to the town of Hsihseng in southern Shan State to retrieve their belongings, according to representatives of an ethnic armed organisation active in the area. Spokesperson for the Pa-O National Liberation Organisation/Army (PNLO/A) Khun Rein Yan told Myanmar Now that three vehicles transporting IDPs to Hsihseng were hit by shells near the village of Wartaw. The weapons were reportedly fired by Myanmar army soldiers in the village of Hsaik Hkawng, north of the town, which is halfway between the Shan and Karenni state capitals of Taunggyi and Loikaw. “The junta troops in Hsaik Hkawng village have heavy artillery, but it's not a military camp: they just have installed heavy weapons in the village,” Khun Rein Yan explained. “The shots were fired from there, resulting in eight serious injuries.” The PNLA is one of two major Pa-O armed groups operating in the area. The other, the Pa-O National Organisation/Army (PNO/A) is a junta-allied militia, which has been launching recent assaults on Hsihseng along with the military since the town was seized by the PNLA and ethnic Karenni allies on January 25. They were forced to retreat five days later by heavy artillery fire and junta airstrikes, which has continued throughout February. On the night of February 17, a six-month-old boy from the village of Htam Yang and a 37-year-old man from Hti Tang were killed and seven other people injured by artillery fired from Bangyin village, where the military’s Light Infantry Battalions 425 and 426 are based and where a clash with the PNLA reportedly took place that day. The PNLA also reported that two civilians were killed and at least eight others were injured by the junta's February 14 aerial bombardment of Pahsarkalow village. The community is located between Hsihseng town and Hopong Township, both of which, along with Pinlaung Township, make up the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone, established under the military’s 2008 Constitution. The junta blamed the recent deaths on the resistance. Tens of thousands of people are believed to have fled the area since January 20, when renewed fighting broke out after the PNA commandeered a PNLA weapons convoy near the village of Sanhpu in Hopong Township. Last year, the PNA was estimated to have more than 4,000 troops under its command, but is said to be engaging in the forced recruitment of new members. The PNLA’s numbers were last estimated several years ago to be in the hundreds, but updated data was not available at the time of reporting. In December 2021, Pa-O resistance forces opposed to the military coup staged earlier that year formed the Pa-O National Federal Council (PNFC) with 15 members. PNFC Secretary 2 Khun Wai Htoo told Myanmar Now that the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone remains a strategic defence area for the junta and the PNA, which has led to the recent series of fierce clashes.

Displaced persons returning to town of Hsihseng hit by junta artillery fire

As several civilians are killed or injured by the junta’s heavy weapons in southern Shan State, the military council blames casualties on the resistance

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