Resistance forces have warned people displaced (IDPs) from Mobye (Mongpai) Town in Pekon Township, southern Shan State to not return yet, as junta military columns are still active in the town.

Mobye Town, which borders Loikaw Township in Karenni State to the east, came under the control of a Karenni resistance coalition in November 2023.

But, the junta launched an offensive to re-take Mobye Town in November 2024 and finally took back control of the town on 11 July 2025, though the resistance still holds the villages around Mobye Town and Mobye Township.

The junta offensive resulted in fierce fighting in Mobye Town that caused many residents to flee and seek safety, mainly in Loikaw Township villages to the east of Loikaw City, the capital of Karenni State, and in Shadaw Township villages to the east of Loikaw Township, also in Karenni State.

The junta currently controls Loikaw City, but Loikaw Township is controlled by the resistance.

A resistance fighter said to NMG: “When the junta launched its offensive to retake Mobye, its troops burned down houses in the town. Because of that, most of the locals fled to villages east of Loikaw City. Some went to Shadaw Township, and others made their way into Demoso Township (in Karenni State) through jungle routes. The junta is still carrying out artillery shelling and airstrikes almost every day around Mobye.”

Most of those IDPs from Mobye Town are in urgent need of food, clean water, and other essential aid, according to local relief groups assisting them.

Another resistance fighter who was on the frontline at Mobye Town warned that it was not yet safe for the displaced residents of the town to return.

He said: “Mobye has completely fallen back into the junta's hands. Its troops are now building a foothold in the town and launching attacks on other areas from there. Right now, there's no safe place in or around Mobye. So, it's just not safe yet for IDPs to return.”

In late July, junta troops began conducting operations along the Pinlaung to Pekon to Mobye to Loikaw Road, a major route linking southern Shan State with Karenni State. On the road, east of Pekon Town, in Loikaw Township, junta troops have torched the villages of Hpayarni and Hmonpyar and several other villages. They also arrested and interrogated villagers from Hmonpyar and Peinchit, another village in Loikaw Township on the road between Pekon Town and Loikaw City.

As of 28 July 2025, heavy fighting was ongoing in the Loikaw Township villages of Hpayarni and Dawhso-klè. Military analysts believe that junta troops reinforced with newly drafted conscripts and supported by the allied Pa-O National Army (PNA) may push into Hpruso and Bawlakhe townships in Karenni State.

The junta now has full control of Mobye Town, but no residents have returned and the town remains lifeless, according to Pekon Township resistance forces who estimate that it could take the junta many months to restore proper governance to Mobye Town.