Junta troops have reportedly entered the abandoned village of South Salong in southern Shan State’s Pekon Township and are transporting civilian property away in vehicles.
Since the third week of June, junta forces and their ally, the Pa-O National Organisation (PNO), have been operating inside South Salong Village, loading and removing residents’ belongings by vehicle, a resistance sniper who monitored the situation from a distance told Shan Herald.
“The villagers have all fled the conflict, so the soldiers are looting whatever was left behind in their homes. Since June 21, they've been moving through the village, loading valuables onto vehicles and taking them away. I clearly witnessed what they were doing. They've also started building guard outposts around the village,” he said.
According to the source, junta troops not only looted belongings left behind in the homes of displaced residents but also dismantled rooftops and other parts of houses. Some of the materials were transported away by vehicles, while others were being reused to construct the outposts.
Military tensions are currently heightened near South Salong Village, where junta forces and a coalition of Karenni resistance groups are facing off. Pekon Township borders Karenni State.
The junta has also launched at least five airstrikes targeting villages and forest areas where civilians displaced by the conflict have been sheltering in Pekon Township.
Residents of South Salong fled to nearby villages and forests during the second week of October 2025 after junta troops entered the village.
“The village was already burned down, so almost nothing was left intact. The residents still can't return home. Right now, they're sheltering near the Karenni border,” the frontline resistance sniper said.
More than 1,000 residents of South Salong Village are currently taking refuge in forests along the Karenni State border, while some have fled to Pinlaung Township in Shan State, according to local sources.
Junta troops entered South Salong Village twice—on October 13 and December 2, 2025—and set fire to homes during both incursions.
During the first arson attack, not only South Salong but also the nearby villages of North Salong and Bawyan were torched.
More than eight months of fighting between junta forces and Karenni resistance coalitions have displaced approximately 6,000 residents from 10 villages in western Pekon Township. Many fled to forests and safer areas and remain unable to return home.
