The junta, conducting military operations in southern Thayetchaung Township in Tanintharyi Region, has been repeatedly burning houses in Mindat Village.

A junta column of about 200 soldiers began carrying out arson attacks on November 23, a Mindat villager told KIC.

“As all the villagers had already fled, the soldiers just set the village on fire as they pleased. Some of us wanted to go back and check the situation, but we didn’t dare, fearing we might run straight into the junta column. Since the end of May, soldiers have been coming into Mindat, setting up camp, and then leaving—over and over. We still don’t know how many houses were burned in this latest arson,” he said.

Similarly, in the second week of November, a junta column entered Theinkone and Katwe villages in Thayetchaung Township, ransacked homes, and set them on fire.

On November 22, junta troops advancing from Boketaung Village in Thayetchaung Township clashed with local resistance forces near Weayit and Kamyaing villages for over an hour. A People’s Defence Force (PDF) fighter said the fighting may have caused casualties among the junta forces.

“The junta is mostly carrying out military operations in the southern part of Thayetchaung Township, which is causing clashes with the resistance forces. Its goal is probably to expand the areas it controls before the election, so there’s a chance the fighting could continue for several more days,” he noted.

The junta’s increased military activities have displaced tens of thousands of locals since October, leaving them in urgent need of assistance, aid workers helping the affected communities said.