Thousands unable to relocate as fighting intensifies on Shan-Karenni border

Up to 10,000 civilians are trapped in Pekhon Township, southern Shan State amid escalating battles between junta and resistance forces and cannot relocate to territory controlled by anti-regime groups, resistance officials said The officials, who serve on the state’s Interim Executive Council (IEC)—a Karenni (Kayah) State governing body opposed to military rule—have been overseeing rescues and evacuations in the neighbouring Pekhon Township since early June, trying to take civilians out of harm’s way as clashes in the area intensified. Junta forces and their allies in the Pa-O National Army (PNA) began advancing towards Pekhon starting in the second week of May, and Karenni rescue organisations began evacuating locals by vehicle in early June. Of more than 30,000 people living in eastern Pekhon, around 20,000 have been removed to resistance territory, but the evacuations have not reached the remaining third for various reasons, according to IEC. “Some people have the view that they don’t need to leave based on prior experience, so they’ve chosen not to,” IEC second secretary Banyar Khun Aung told Myanmar Now. “Another reason is that when rescue efforts were happening, they weren’t ready to leave on time, so they stayed behind. And by the time they wanted to leave, the roads were blocked.” Some 20,000 residents of 16 villages in southern Shan State’s Pekhon and Nyaungshwe townships were forced to flee their homes as junta forces and members of the junta-allied ethnic armed group Pa-O National Army (PNA) advanced into the area, accompanied by heavy artillery and air support. The troops and their allies reportedly torched and destroyed the villages as they came. Citing security in the Pa-O homeland as their top priority, the PNA and its political wing the Pa-O National Organisation (PNO) have been cooperating with the military junta, carrying out offensive operations in Pinlaung and Pekhon townships on the border between Shan and Karenni states and clashing with Karenni resistance forces practically every day. Since the military recaptured the town Moebye south of Pekhon in early July, it has maintained effective control of the road between Moebye and Loikaw, the capital of Karenni State. The junta has also regained full control of Loikaw, the site of one of its Regional Operations Command (ROC) headquarters and other bases for the troops under the ROC’s command. A civilian driver who has been helping to relocate displaced civilians said that the loss of the road was the main reason the evacuations had all but come to a halt. “The situation is that we can no longer continue the evacuations. There’s only one route available for evacuation,” he said. Fearing that civilians would be caught in the fighting, rescue workers have been relocating people in vehicles since the launch of the Karenni resistance forces’ “Operation 1111” offensive in November 2023. People evacuated in the rescue vehicles must limit themselves to carrying only a few personal belonging, leaving most of their possessions at home. The vehicles take them to camps set up by the resistance forces, where they stay in makeshift shelters with plastic roofing. Members of the Free Burma Rangers, an organisation emergency volunteers who came to Pekhon Township in the second week of June to provide relocation assistance (Photo: A Chon) Rescue organisers noted that some civilians choose not to flee out of reluctance to abandon their homes and personal property. A source close to Karenni resistance forces said that, although the resistance forces provide the displaced with food, shelter, and whatever means are available to help them maintain a livelihood, they are not in a position to provide assistance sufficient for a full, resettled life. Under these conditions, many displaced people do not stay long in resistance-controlled territory and instead return to their homes after briefly taking refuge away from the conflict, according to a source close to the Karenni armed resistance. “Some risk their lives to return to their homes. Even in the past day or two, there were some displaced people who returned to Moebye,” he said. “The army didn’t jail them. But they did call them in for questioning, then released them.” People returning home may be released unharmed, he added, but are also taking the risk that the military will torture or kill them. “The situation could develop in various ways. Our view is that we want them to be very careful when traveling. On our revolutionary forces’ side, in some cases, we have completely prohibited any travel for safety’s sake,” he said. Karenni People’s Voice, a media outlet based in Karenni State, reported that the displaced people from eastern Pekhon were in need of shelter and emergency supplies after reaching the rural areas of Karenni State under resistance control. Posts on pro-junta Telegram propaganda channels said that the military, having captured Moebye in Pekhon Township, now controlled the “gateway” to Karenni State and were in a position to launch offensives against resistance strongholds in Demoso Township, south of Loikaw. Junta troops are currently defending the Infantry Battalion (IB) 102 base in Demoso against attacks by the Karenni resistance forces surrounding them, and are awaiting an assault by outside junta forces to break the siege. While the military continues to gain the upper hand in northern Karenni State, resistance fighters are still launching attacks to capture the army’s IB 135 base in Hpasawng, some 60 miles south of Loikaw.

Thousands unable to relocate as fighting intensifies on Shan-Karenni border

While some locals have chosen to risk remaining in Pekhon, southern Shan State rather than abandon their homes and belongings, road closures are blocking rescue evacuations even for those who wish to leave

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