Over 100 houses have been destroyed in arson attacks by the junta and its allied Pa-O National Organization (PNO) militia in Hsihseng Township, southern Shan State.
The junta-PNO coalition burned houses in Tapuhto, Nawngbo, and Nawnghtaw villages, according to the Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLA), an ethnic armed organization (EAO) opposing them.
“We don’t know the exact number of houses burned in Tapuhto, Nawngbo, and Nawnghtaw, but it’s already more than 100,” said Khun Rein Yan, spokesperson for the PNLA.
Starting on August 6, junta-PNO columns began attacking the villages, forcing residents to flee. The troops ransacked the empty homes, looted valuables, loaded them onto trucks, and then set the houses on fire, Khun Rein Yan added.
“Based on the intel we have, we know that junta-PNO troops went into empty villages and looted houses. They took whatever they wanted in trucks, and then they set the houses on fire,” he told NMG.
Tapuhto has already endured four previous arson attacks by the junta. In August, the junta-PNO coalition continued to burn houses one by one while stationed in the village.
More than 2,000 people have been displaced from their homes by the heinous acts of the junta-PNO coalition and are now in urgent need of food, medicine, and shelter.
The coalition, numbering over 1,000 troops, began entering Nawnghtaw Village on August 6 and burned at least 24 houses.
The PNLA announced on August 13 that these troops also shot and killed a 38-year-old local man when they entered Salaunghtaw Village.
Photo credit - CJ
