In Tanintharyi Region, Yebyu Township, junta forces frequently arrest villagers along the Malwe Taung–Kalain Aung road and force them to serve as human shields during their troops’ movements.

According to a resistance group, since the clashes began, Yebyu villagers have been arrested five times in two months, with some released and others still missing.

On September 10th, as junta troops’ advanced through Kywe Ta Lin village, some residents were detained. On September 7th, junta troops apprehended about 10 villagers from Rar Hpu village.  They have not yet been released, according to a frontline resistance commander who is in the area. 

“These 10 people were detained on the 7th and have not been released to this day. Over the past two months of clashes, the junta have arrested villagers more than five times, sometimes releasing them afterwards. Whenever troops advance through villages, they seize residents and force them to guide them to the revolutionary forces’ positions, using them as human shields,” the commander added.

Villagers who have been are also subjected to beatings and other forms of abuse.

As of today, junta forces continue their advance from Thar Yar Mon village toward Rar Hpu, Kywe Ta Lin and Lawt Thaing villages.

A local man from Yebyu stated, “Those villagers who were captured say they had to follow orders. They sent them here and there. Some did nothing, while elders and children were captured and then released. But some who did not comply faced beatings.”

On August 28th, military commission forces advanced into Thayaymon village, where they detained at least 10 residents, including women and young children, at a monastery. These detainees were released the following day, August 29th.

Residents unable to flee were detained and taken away. After troops establish their bases, detainees are often released but then frequently re-arrested in the same areas.

Due to the ongoing intense fighting in the Yebyu area, IMNA has not yet been able to confirm the exact number of detainees and missing persons.

The use of civilians as human shields violates international humanitarian law (IHL), which prohibits the detention of civilians as combatants or their use as human shields. Such acts constitute breaches of these laws and can be classified as war crimes.