Monthly Overview: Displacement on the rise in Southeastern Burma as the Military Junta Increases Offensives Ahead of the Sham Election

The human rights situation in targeted areas of Mon State, Karen State, and the Tanintharyi Region, as documented by the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), is under threat. Ahead of the Junta’s sham election, the military has increased its attacks and contributed to the worsening of the current humanitarian crisis, which has displaced 3 million people nationwide.

Local sources report that the Junta forces have launched a large operation across the Pyar Taung area of Kyaikmayaw Township, Mon State, prompting civilians to leave their homes. Many of those fleeing are young people, fearful of arrests, forced conscription, and clashes as columns advance. Since October 26, more than 200 soldiers have entered multiple villages, including Kawt Doon, Kawt Pa Naw, Kawt Wan, Kwan Ngan, Mea Karo, and Katon Si, and conducted searches along roads, on farms, and inside private homes. Residents say troops are reinforcing their units and stopping vehicles for inspections as they push deeper into the area.

The soldiers are currently based inside the MCL cement factory at Pyar Taung and have shelled nearby communities and used drones in attacks, heightening concerns that heavy fighting could break out soon with resistance forces. People’s Defence Forces are active across Kyaikmayaw Township, where large areas are now outside the Junta’s control. In Pyar Taung specifically, Mon and Karen ethnic resistance groups are reported to hold significant influence, raising fears that civilians may be caught between opposing sides as the situation escalates.

Evidence of coercion and manipulation is emerging in Mon State, showing how the Junta is using its control over local administrative structures to secure support for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) ahead of the planned elections.

According to information collected by HURFOM field monitors, USDP members are not campaigning on a level playing field. Instead, they are working hand in glove with junta-appointed village and ward administrators, who are calling villagers to meetings, urging them to vote for USDP candidates, and, in some cases, checking household lists to see who is supportive. This is happening even though the Junta’s own election guidelines state that parties should campaign only during the official period and do so freely and fairly.

A resident from Chaungzon Township explained how the campaign is being carried out:

“They came and said only the USDP will really work for the people of Mon State. The village administrators spoke like party people. They told us voting is our right and we must vote, and that we should vote for USDP. Because most of the administrators were appointed under the Junta, they are now using that power to help the USDP, even though it breaks the rules.”

In Mawlamyine, Mudon, and Chaungzon townships, USDP supporters have also been quietly recruiting people to join their campaign teams by offering about 15,000 kyats per person per day, according to a local from Mudon who asked not to be named. The junta-controlled election commission announced on 15 October 2025 that parties could begin official campaigning from 28 October to 26 December, a 60-day window. During this period, parties and candidates are supposed to follow the election law and refrain from using state power to influence voters. But in practice, villagers say the authorities themselves are the ones helping the USDP.

A young person from Chaungzon told HURFOM: “On paper, they say it must be free and fair. But in reality, the people in power are the first ones breaking it. Administrators are pushing USDP activities like it is their duty.”

Sources in other junta-controlled areas of Mon State, and even parts of Thaton District and Karen State, confirmed that this style of advance, authority-backed campaigning has been happening since around July 2025, well before the official start date.

In some villages in Mudon Township, during demonstrations of the new electronic voting machines organized by the election commission, USDP supporters reportedly showed up in party shirts. They told people to vote for their party. Residents viewed this as another example of blurring the line between state functions and party activities.

A political source in Mawlamyine linked the problem to how the Junta has stacked local administration posts with USDP members: “The current Mon State Chief Minister, U Aung Kyi Thein, is also the USDP chair for the state. In Chaungzon, the township USDP chair is also in the administration. So when the USDP wants to campaign, they just use the administration network. That is misuse of power.”

Local people and activists are worried that if the USDP continues to use administrators, security structures, and village heads to mobilize votes, other parties will not be able to compete.

As one activist put it: “If the election law is already being violated before the election even starts, then we cannot call it a fair election. And if the election is not fair, politics after the election will become even more unstable.”

In Mawlamyine, residents say Junta authorities have begun going door to door to collect personal information and take photographs of people in their homes. According to those living in the city, data collection has been carried out by ward administrators and immigration staff. In some cases, they were accompanied by plain-clothes Junta soldiers.

On 6 and 7 November, the teams were seen in Myain Thayar, Kywal Cham Kone and Phet Khin wards between about 10 AM and 5 PM. They went street by street, stopping at each house, writing down the family members’ details and taking their photos. A resident from the Phet Khin area told HURFOM that no reason was given:“They came to every house and took photos of everyone. They did not explain what it was for. We are worried because we don’t know how they will use our photos.”

Local people also noticed that Junta soldiers in plainclothes were stationed nearby while immigration and administrative staff were registering. Similar activities have been reported in parts of Kyaikmayaw, Thaton and Chaungzon townships in recent days, where residents were also asked to provide personal data.

In some wards in Mawlamyine, people who are renting, staying temporarily, or living as guests were also told to submit their information and a photo, reportedly for voter registration purposes related to the Junta’s planned election. Residents said this kind of data collection has been happening since early October.

A 57-year-old man from Kwan Yaik Village, Chaungzon Township, Mon State, has been sentenced to 17 years in prison by the military Junta under its Election Protection Law, which is being used to punish those accused of “disrupting” the upcoming polls, according to local sources.

The victim, U Kyaw Myint, was arrested on 4 November after being accused of tearing down a list of candidate names posted at the village administration office.

“He was given 17 years in prison just like that. If someone kills a person, they don’t even get that much. Since it’s the first case, they say it’s a warning and gave him 17 years,” a resident of Kwan Yaik Village told HURFOM.

On 19 November, the Mawlamyine District Court handed down a 17-year sentence under Sections 26(a)/24(a) of the Election Protection Law. Local people say the punishment is extremely harsh and intended to intimidate others who may oppose or question the Junta’s planned election.

This is the first known sentencing under the Election Protection Law in Mon State. Earlier, on 5 November, the Junta’s election commission also opened a case under the same law against 22 members of the Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 1, including Thaton District Chairperson Padoh Saw Soe Myint, at Thein Seik Police Station in Thaton Township. Locals fear these cases signal a broader campaign to silence dissent and force people to accept an election being held under military rule.

On November 13, HURFOM released its latest report: “Voting under the barrel of a gun,” A Country At War, Not At the Polls. Our findings indicated that this election is yet another attempt at legitimacy.

Arbitrary Arrest

On 5 November 2025, troops from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 406, based in Yebyu Township, advanced into the Yar Phu village tract in Yebyu Township, Tanintharyi Region. During the operation, they arrested 35-year-old Ko Phai Dit from Thar Yar Mon Village after accusing him of sharing information with resistance forces.

According to his wife, he tried to flee and hide in a plantation when the soldiers entered the area, but they found him and checked his phone. “They looked through his phone and messages. Then they asked him, ‘Are you an informant?’ and arrested him. They tied him with a rope and beat him,” she told HURFOM.

Local sources said LIB 406 stayed in Thar Yar Mon Village for two days. When the unit pulled back from the village on 7 November, they released Ko Phai Dit. By then, he needed medical treatment for injuries he suffered from the beatings and torture during his detention.

“The soldiers keep moving from village to village. They don’t stay long in one place, but they often base themselves for a while in Yar Phu and Log Tie villages,” a resident from Yar Phu village tract explained.

Although there have been no armed clashes recently in Yebyu Township, villagers report that Junta troops, including LIB 406, continue to enter communities, interrogate residents, and arrest people on suspicion. Some of those detained have not returned and are believed to have been forcibly disappeared, according to villagers who spoke to HURFOM.

As the Junta presses forward with its planned “election,” authorities in Mon State have moved to shut down any sign of disagreement. Interfering with, questioning, or even appearing to challenge the process is no longer tolerated. A vast network of informers, ward and village administrators, and allied armed groups is now closely monitoring communities, tracking conversations, following social media activity, and reporting individuals they suspect of not supporting the regime.

Residents say this has created a climate of fear marked by regular arrests, intimidation, and surveillance. The recent arrest of a 65-year-old man from Kwan Yike Village, Chaungzon Township, Mon State, for allegedly tampering with an election notice is one clear example of this pattern, HURFOM field sources reported, after he was charged under the Junta’s “Election Protection Law” for supposedly interfering with the upcoming polls.

The male villager, 65-year-old U Kyaw Myint, was detained after he was accused of removing or damaging a document posted at the village administrator’s office listing the candidates contesting in Chaungzon Township, Mon State, on November 1,1, 2025. Residents said Junta officials came and took him away in the daytime, and since then, his family has not been allowed to contact him.

According to information received by HURFOM, the Junta authorities have opened a case against him at the Chaungzon Township police station under Sections 26(a)/24(a) of the election-related law, and he is currently being held in custody.

This is not the first such case. On 2 November in Hpa-an Town, two residents from Ward No. 2 were also arrested after being accused of damaging the campaign billboard of the junta-appointed Karen State Chief Minister. Since issuing its so-called election protection law, the junta has been using it to suppress dissent and control public expression. By the first week of November 2025, an estimated 107 people across the country, both men and women, had been arrested and charged under this law.

Nine women teachers from Theinzayat town, Kyaikto Township, Mon State, were briefly detained and warned by resistance forces after they travelled to attend a Junta election training, according to local sources. All were later released the same day. On the morning of 16 November, the teachers left Theinzayat in a hired vehicle to attend a training session for poll station officers at Basic Education High School No. 1 in Kyaikto. They were stopped and detained near Kam Ni Village in Kyaikto Township, an area under the control of allied revolutionary forces.

The teachers rented a car and went to the poll station officer training. They were stopped and taken near Kam Ni. Because they are known teachers from Theinzayat, they were treated more leniently. They were released the same day with a warning,” a resident from Theinzayat told HURFOM.

Those reportedly released include Daw Ri Ri Win, a senior teacher at Theinzayat Basic Education High School, and several headmistresses from basic education schools in the town. The nine were detained by forces from the Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 1, Thaton District, including the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and allied People’s Defence Forces (PDF), and released later that day after being questioned and cautioned.

Kam Ni Village is located in a zone under the control of the revolutionary allied forces. It is considered an area where the junta-appointed Election Commission will not be able to open polling stations. On 26 September, KNU Brigade 1, Thaton District, publicly declared its opposition to the Junta’s planned “election” and stated that it would work together with others who oppose the process to disrupt and dismantle it.

For teachers and civil servants across Mon State and nearby areas, this incident reflects the difficult position they are in: caught between pressure from the Junta to participate in its election process and warnings from resistance forces who reject the legitimacy of the vote in a country still at war.

Destruction of Properties

Junta troops have looted and destroyed homes in Thayetchaung (Lower Village), Thayetchaung Township, Tanintharyi Region, after launching a major operation into the now-empty village, where they immediately began destroying property, looting homes, and stealing valuables.

On 19 November, at 11 AM, a Junta column of more than 100 soldiers entered Thayetchaung (Lower Village) and ransacked over 50 houses belonging to internally displaced people. “Most of the families had already left because of the fighting, so the houses were empty,” said a 50-year-old male villager who had remained hiding near the village. “The soldiers broke down the doors, searched everything, and took whatever valuables they could find. What they didn’t want, they destroyed. Many houses are badly damaged. Because they arrest people on sight, almost all the men from the village have fled. The soldiers just take what they want.”

Residents also reported that on 18 November, when the same column advanced into the area around Thayetchaung (Lower Village) and Seik Chaung Village, five local men from Seik Chaung were arrested and taken away. As of now, their families have received no information about their whereabouts or condition, and they have not been released.

Local people say the destruction and losses in Thayetchaung (Lower Village) cannot yet be fully assessed because the Junta column is still active in the area, and villagers do not dare to return. The same column reportedly burned houses in Thein Kone Village and Katwe Village in Thayetchaung Township during the second week of November.

Since military columns began operating more intensively in Thayetchaung Township in October, more than ten thousand residents have fled their homes and are now living in displacement and great hardship. Those assisting the displaced say people urgently need food, shelter, materials, and humanitarian support as Junta operations continue to target villages, homes, and anyone who remains behind.

Local sources report that Junta soldiers have set fire to civilian homes in Mindat Village, located along the Dawei–Myeik road in Tha Yet Chaung Township, Dawei District. At 8 AM on 23 November, troops entered the village and began burning and destroying houses, according to residents familiar with the situation. Many villagers fled in fear as the soldiers moved through the community.

“We still don’t know how many houses have been burned down. They are still inside the village,” said a man from Mindat who is now sheltering after escaping the fighting.

The arson attack followed clashes the previous day. On 22 November, at around 10 a.m., Junta forces advancing from Bote Taung engaged in more than an hour of fighting with joint revolutionary forces between Wae Rit Village and Ka Myaing Village.

Since 21 October, the Junta has been conducting ongoing military operations along the Dawei–Myeik roadway, from Tha Yet Chaung town to Palauk, leaving communities along the route in a constant state of fear and displacement.

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