Myanmar junta forces stationed in Ywangan Township, southern Shan State, opened fire on a group of young men—wounding one and severely beating four others—amid a military operation that has forcibly displaced thousands of residents, according to witnesses.

Regime troops began deploying across several village tracts in Ywangan on August 16, issuing strict orders for civilians to evacuate their homes within three days.

The incident occurred on the evening of August 17 in Yaeu Village Tract, as five men in their 20s encountered junta troops advancing from neighboring Theinkone Village Tract.

“Soldiers shot at them simply because they were young men,” a witness told the Shan Herald. “One victim was rushed to the hospital in Ywangan Town. The other four were beaten, suffered severe bruising, and were later released.”

The military deployment has triggered mass displacement across Theinkone, Yaeu, and Myaing village tracts.

However, some elderly residents have chosen to stay behind to safeguard their property from looting.

“The youth have fled to wherever they can find safety because the military actively targets young men,” a Theinkone resident said. “However, soldiers routinely enter and loot abandoned houses, so some of us have to stay behind.”

Local resistance forces, including PDF Battalion 1003 operating in the Danu Self-Administered Zone, reported that regime troops frequently order evacuations as a pretext to ransack homes, steal valuables, and slaughter livestock.

Resistance officials have advised fleeing civilians to carry essential personal belongings and national identification cards at all times.

Security inspections and arbitrary arrests have intensified across Ywangan Township following late-July clashes between junta forces and the Danu People's Liberation Army (DPLA).