The Myanmar military and its affiliated Pa-O National Organization (PNO) militia are looting civilian properties and burning houses in villages within Hsihseng Township, Southern Shan State, according to Khun Rain Yan, the information officer of the Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLA). Since August 9, military forces and PNO militia have been entering villages including Naung Htaw Village New Quarter, Naung Htaw Kular Road, Naung Htaw Kayah Section, Naung Bo, and Tapuhtoe, where they have been systematically looting civilian properties using trucks and subsequently burning down houses.
More than 100 houses have been destroyed by fire so far, with the burning continuing on a daily basis, house by house. Tapuhtoe village, in particular, has been targeted multiple times before, having been burned down at least three to four times previously, and remaining houses are still being set on fire. The destroyed properties include both large, well-built houses and ordinary dwellings. The military and militia forces have been repeatedly using trucks to remove civilian possessions before setting the houses ablaze.
The villagers have been forcibly evicted from their communities and are still not allowed to return to their homes. While the military conducts daily drone and artillery operations in the areas surrounding the villages, there have been no actual battles within the villages themselves. Instead, the forces are specifically targeting civilian homes for destruction. The systematic nature of these operations suggests a deliberate campaign to displace civilians and destroy their property rather than any military necessity.
The PNO militia, operating under military control, has been identified as an organization that primarily serves to protect the interests of crony Ne Win Tun and military leader Min Aung Hlaing. The PNLA Information Department has stated that the PNO has betrayed the civilian population by participating in the destruction of civilian homes and property. This campaign of destruction represents a continuing pattern of civilian targeting by military-affiliated forces in the region, causing significant displacement and property loss among the local population.
