Pro-regime Pa-O army orders thousands of civilians to relocate

The Pa-O National Army (PNA), an ethnic armed group allied with Myanmar’s military, has ordered 6,000 residents of Hsihseng Township in southern Shan State to relocate by June 15, according to local sources. In a recent directive, the group instructed residents of six villages to move to a pagoda compound in Hpa Yar Hpyu, a village some 55 miles west of the town of Hsihseng. Hsihseng is one of three townships comprising the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone, which is controlled by the political wing of the PNA, the Pa-O National Organisation (PNO). The villages ordered to evacuate are Ta Pu Hto, Kawng Hto, Loi Ngun, Naung Bo, and Pin Set in the Nawng Kyaw village tract and Nawng Htaw and Kalar Lum in the Taung Shey village tract. An official of the Pa-O Youth Organisation (PYO), which monitors human rights abuses in ethnic Pa-O areas, told Myanmar Now that the PNA did not tell the villagers why they had to leave. “They just said that if they don’t relocate and something happens to them, [the PNA] won’t take responsibility. They told them they must move out by the 15th. No reason was given—they just said that everyone had to move to Hpa Yar Hpyu,” he said. Residents of Hsihseng said that the affected villages, all located within 10 miles of the town, have faced raids by junta and PNA forces amid tensions with the rival Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLA) and other anti-junta groups active in the area. Some speculated that the PNA issued its order ahead of plans to intensify attacks against the resistance forces. “They want to retake areas beyond their current control line, which is why they ordered the civilians to relocate—so they can fire artillery into that area,” said the PYO official. “The junta’s control ends at Nawng Kyaw. Neither junta troops nor the PNO dare to go beyond that point, which means those areas are under the control of the opposing forces,” he added. A PNO/PNA officer reached by Myanmar Now stated that he was unaware of the exact details regarding the villagers’ relocation, but said the move was intended to protect residents’ safety and ensure that children had access to education. The PNLA responded that the relocation was carried out to prevent the resistance forces from coming into contact with local civilians. “This was done to cut off ties between the people and the revolution. From what residents have told me, civilians are being forced out to serve the junta’s interests,” the PNLA officer said. Residents stated that being ordered to relocate during the agricultural season has severely disrupted their ability to grow crops essential for their yearly livelihood. Despite arrangements to accommodate relocating residents in Hpa Yar Hpyu, no one had moved there as of June 10, a resident of Hsihseng reported. On June 2, a combined force of more than 1,000 junta and PNA soldiers seized control of resistance outposts in the villages of Hpa Yar Taung and Ye Pu in Nyaungshwe Township. The column then advanced onto the villages of Nangtoke and Nyaunglebin, situated between Nyaungshwe and Pinlaung Townships. Thousands of residents from those villages have fled—some as far as Karenni State—to escape the clashes, residents reported. The PNA has collaborated with the junta army to escalate offensives in southern Shan State’s Pinlaung and Pekon townships and Karenni State, citing the security of the Pa-O region as justification. According to residents, newly recruited PNA troops have been deployed in these offensives. The ongoing offensives have led to almost daily clashes with resistance forces. By May 2025, over 50,000 residents had been displaced in southern Shan State, according to the PYO official.

Pro-regime Pa-O army orders thousands of civilians to relocate

The move comes as junta forces intensify their attacks against resistance groups active in southern Shan State

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