The military council is requiring internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Kawkareik Township and Kyondoe Town in Karen State to pay fees based on the number of people before allowing them to cross the Gyaing Bridge. According to displaced civilians, military council troops at the Gyaing Bridge checkpoint, dressed in civilian clothes but carrying weapons, are inspecting vehicles and motorcycles and demanding payments ranging from 10,000 kyats to hundreds of thousands of kyats per family.
People fleeing from artillery shelling in Kyondoe, Kanni, and Tharawthaw areas attempting to seek refuge near Shwephyu Monastery are being targeted by military council forces at the bridge checkpoint, particularly those using unlicensed village vehicles. Those who refuse to pay are forced to turn back, and there are threats of vehicle confiscation. Local residents report that similar extortion occurred last year during fighting in Mon village, Kawbein, Kawpauk, and Kyondoe areas. The military council forces are specifically targeting civilian IDPs for monetary extraction at checkpoints while commercial traffic has decreased due to recent conflicts.
Currently, military tensions are escalating in the Kawkareik and Kyondoe regions. The military council has deployed hundreds of troops along the route from Kyarkalay, Zarthapyin Junction, Eindu, Thamanya, and Naunglone mountain pass on the Hpa-an Township side of the Gyaing Bridge. They have also established a position with approximately 60 soldiers and heavy weapons at the monastery in Phayarkonvillage, associated with Sayadaw Min Thunya. The extortion of IDPs by military council forces has reportedly increased as regular commercial transportation has been disrupted due to the ongoing conflicts in the region.
