Myanmar junta troops entrench in Kyaikto township villages, leaving thousands displaced and unable to return

Mizzima

Local sources say that thousands of residents from villages in Kyaikto Township, Mon State, remain displaced and unable to return home because Myanmar junta troops have been stationed inside their communities.

Beginning on 9 February, junta forces from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 207 and Artillery Battalion 310, based in Theinzayat town in Kyaikto Township, advanced toward the villages of Sitkwin, Mokekamawt, Khaywe, Kyaukyaydwin, Winkan, and Kyaukpongyi.

Since that day, junta troops have deployed and entrenched themselves across Khaywe, Kyaukpongyi, Winkan, and Mokekamawt villages. With the forces now facing off directly with resistance groups, civilians are reportedly too afraid to return home.

The area where military tensions remain high lies near the Sittaung River in villages under Kyaikto Township, along the border between Mon State and Bago Region.

Due to the current situation, residents from at least ten villages — including those mentioned — have fled to forests within territory controlled by Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 1, Battalion 3, as well as to Theinzayat town. These villages are nearly 40 miles from Kyaikto town, so only a small number of people have fled toward Kyaikto.

“We’ve heard the junta troops may continue advancing toward Kawkat (a village inside KNU Brigade 1, Battalion 3 territory). There have already been clashes, and at the moment both sides are still confronting each other,” a frontline source told Mizzima on the afternoon of 20 February.

“No one dares stay. Everyone had to run,” said one local resident.

Clashes broke out on the very day the junta column first entered the area, leaving four resistance fighters dead. In addition, four villagers from Mokekamawt were killed during the fighting due to gunfire and alleged arrests and killings by junta troops.

Similarly, residents from Hpoewarthein village and the villages of Ahlugyi and Ahlulay, located along the Kyaikto–Bilin Township border where junta forces advanced, have also been unable to return home.

The junta column had previously entered Ahlulay, Ahlugyi, Hpoewarthein, Nyaunghtaut, and Shansu villages once on 7 February and earlier on 12 December, 2025.

During those operations, clashes occurred between junta troops and resistance groups active in Bilin Township. Civilian deaths were also reported due to artillery shelling and killings attributed to junta forces.

In addition, junta troops reportedly took civilians’ motorcycles, money, and phones and burned down some houses.

At present, some residents from Ahlugyi, Ahlulay, and Nyaunghtaut villages have returned home, but residents of Hpoewarthein village where nearly the entire village was destroyed are still displaced and unable to resettle.