Junta troops advancing to reinforce the regime’s Hpapun Tactical Operations Command (TOC) in Mutraw District, the territory of the Brigade 5 of the Karen National Union (KNU), burned down homes in Kyaukkwin (Leh Kwei Doh) Village along the Hpapun–Kamarmaung Road, according to Brigade 5.

The junta column had threatened to burn down deserted villages along its route, after residents were forced to flee the conflict. On May 25, regime soldiers entered Kyaukkwin Village and torched more than 70 unoccupied homes. Junta forces also carried out arbitrary artillery shelling, Brigade 5 spokesperson Saw Robin Mu said.

“The soldiers burned down Kyaukkwin Village. Around 70 to 100 houses were reduced to ashes, causing massive losses. They also fired artillery indiscriminately. Everywhere they went, they left destruction behind, like a scorched-earth campaign,” he told KIC.

The junta column heading toward the Hpapun TOC reached an area about 40 miles from Yaepu (Maw Law Klo) Village on May 24. On that day, heavy clashes broke out between it and a resistance coalition led by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the KNU. During the fighting, the junta suffered casualties, including a battalion commander.

The column, reportedly numbering over 2,000 troops, was deployed by the junta to reinforce the Hpapun TOC and establish firm control over Hpapun Town, according to resistance sources.

While junta ground troops carried out arson and artillery bombardments on nearby villages along their route, junta aircraft also intensified bombing campaigns targeting civilian areas.

The same column entered Wa Tho Hta Village in Hpapun Township on May 21 and burned down nearly the entire village. Later, Mekalar Village was hit by an airstrike that destroyed many homes.