A junta column of roughly 100 men has been roaming the Kyaukhnget and Ahlelchaung village tracts in Ywangan Township, southern Shan State, in recent days, physically assaulting and interrogating local villagers.
The junta column was first sighted in the Kyaukhnget Village Tract on September 12. Since then, soldiers have been interrogating and beating villagers heading to the orchards and firing artillery indiscriminately into the surrounding jungles to intimidate locals, a Kyaukhnget resident reported.
“They’re stationed in the village and haven’t left yet. The villagers don’t dare go to the orchards near them. Whenever they encounter the villagers, they often interrogate and beat them. At least three or four people have been beaten so badly that their backs are black. They’ve even killed and eaten the villagers’ chickens. With them around, no one feels safe,” he told Shan Herald.
In addition, the soldiers conduct daily patrols of the two village tracts, summoning auxiliary Pyusawhti militia members from nearby villages.
In the first week of September, junta troops arrived in Minpalaung Village, Ywangan Township, sparking panic among war-displaced people sheltering around the village, according to a 30-year-old woman assisting the displaced.
“Nowadays, junta columns are moving around a lot in Ywangan Township. When they show up, life becomes even harder for the displaced people. Many of them are elderly, children, or chronically ill. They don’t have enough food or medicine, and their situation is really harsh,” she said.
On December 21, 2024, a junta column leaving Yaehla Village in Ywangan Township and advancing toward Minpalaung Village clashed with the Danu State National Defense Army (DSNDA) near Minpalaung, prompting approximately 700 villagers to flee their homes for safety.
In March, a displaced child in Minpalaung Village died of diarrhea due to a lack of medicine, and currently, around 200 displaced people are suffering from skin diseases.
The junta plans to conduct the upcoming election, which it will oversee, in phases. Although Ywangan Township is not included in Phase 1, scheduled for December 28, troops are being deployed and security operations carried out almost daily in the region.
