Monthly Overview: Destruction of Properties by the Military Junta Leads to Increasing Levels of Displacement Across Southeastern Burma

Throughout February, the military junta employed tactics aimed at destroying civilian livelihoods, including their properties, homes, and land. This deliberate destruction of villages is intended to create a climate of fear and to break the spirit of innocent civilians. The Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) has been closely monitoring the devastating impacts of these actions and their aftermath, as the most vulnerable individuals suffer the most and urgently need protection.

Between February 10 and 16 in Lae Thit Village, Tanintharyi Township, Myeik District, advancing junta troops from Myeik town burned more than 100 civilian homes and carried out aerial bombings amid clashes with resistance forces. Arson attacks were reported on February 12 and 13, while troops remained stationed in the village as of February 14, preventing residents from returning. On February 16, a military jet reportedly dropped two bombs near the western section of the village. Although fighting occurred along the village’s outskirts, residents stated there was no active clash inside the village when homes were set on fire. The attacks have resulted in mass displacement and heightened insecurity, with the KNU confirming the large-scale destruction of civilian property.

In Pu Law Township, Tanintharyi Region, military troops have repeatedly set fire to wards in Pala Town and nearby villages, destroying more than 110 civilian homes and forcing entire communities to flee. On January 31, Junta troops again set fire to Shark Pone Village, located close to Pu Law Town, burning down more than 40 houses. The full extent of the damage has not yet been confirmed, as junta troops remain stationed inside the village, restricting access and information.

Local residents said junta troops are positioned on the eastern side of Shark Pone Village, closer to Pu Law Town, while resistance forces are located on the western side. Fires reportedly broke out in areas closer to the junta’s position, leading residents to believe the houses were deliberately set alight by the troops.

“The houses are very close together, so the fire spread very quickly. When villagers tried to put out the flames, the troops fired small arms at them. They did not allow anyone to extinguish the fire,” one local resident told HURFOM.

However, a source close to resistance forces said some houses in the central part of the village caught fire after a military drone flew overhead, raising concerns that the fires may also have been caused by explosives dropped from the drone. These accounts could not be independently verified due to ongoing military presence and security risks. Junta troops have reportedly been stationed at War Tan Monastery in Shark Pone Village for more than a year, using the site as a base for military operations in the area.

Earlier, on the night of January 28, junta troops launched an operation into Toe Village near Pala Town and again set fire to civilian homes. The number of houses destroyed there remains unknown, as clashes with resistance forces were ongoing at the time of reporting.

Similarly, on January 27, junta troops stationed at the Pala Town police station set fire to civilian-owned homes across four wards in Pala Town, destroying at least 78 houses.

“When the military set fire to Pala Town, 78 houses were burned to ashes. We still do not know how many homes were destroyed in Toe Village, but in Shark Pone Village, more than 40 houses have already been burned and destroyed,” a local source said.

Residents across Pu Law Township report that the junta is carrying out daily indiscriminate shelling using artillery weapons, forcing civilians to flee repeatedly in search of safety. Throughout the final week of January 2026, junta troops have continued arson attacks on homes in towns and villages across the township, further deepening displacement, fear, and humanitarian need among already vulnerable communities.

Junta troops stationed in Shark Pone Village, Pu Law Township, Myeik District, have set fire to the village at least five times during the first two weeks of February. Shark Pone Village, located across the river from Pa Law town, is currently deserted as residents have fled for safety. However, troops remain positioned inside the village. On the nights of February 9 and February 11, soldiers again set fires in different parts of the village. On February 9, the blaze engulfed the central section of Shark Pone. The exact number of homes destroyed remains unknown.

“Since the soldiers are stationed there, we do not dare to go and check,” said one resident. “We could only see from far away that the fire was burning intensely.”

Two days later, on February 11, troops set fire near the village school in the southern section, reportedly destroying more than three houses. Full details remain unclear because residents cannot safely access the area. The wave of arson attacks began on January 31, when junta troops first burned Shark Pone Village, destroying more than 40 homes. During the first week of February, at least two additional fire incidents reportedly destroyed between eight and twelve houses. On February 6, at 7 PM, troops carried out another arson attack, burning four more homes.

In total, more than 60 houses have been destroyed in Shark Pone Village within less than two weeks. Residents say that during the initial fire on January 31, when villagers attempted to extinguish the flames, junta soldiers opened fire on them. Since then, people have been afraid to return to put out the fires, fearing for their lives.

Currently, junta troops are stationed within Shark Pone Village, while resistance forces remain outside the village. Civilians are caught in between, unable to return home. Local residents also report that in Pu Law Township, including Pala town and nearby villages, junta troops have been carrying out arson attacks since the election period, burning more than 250 homes.

Families who once lived in Shark Pone now remain displaced, watching from a distance as their homes are repeatedly reduced to ashes. HURFOM continues to monitor and document the situation as access allows, while civilians remain at serious risk amid ongoing military operations.

In Kha Maung Taung Village, Launglon Township, Dawei District, junta troops broke into nearly every house in the village and looted household belongings. Local sources said that on January 25, Junta soldiers provided security for the election in Sakhan Kyi Village Tract. Early the next morning, on January 26, the troops moved into Kha Maung Taung Village, where many homes had already been abandoned by residents fleeing earlier fighting. The soldiers reportedly occupied empty houses, forced entry into others, and took civilian property.

“Almost the entire village was broken into,” a local woman said. “They took clothes, rice cookers, and many household items. They stole the things people depend on for their daily lives.”

The troops remained stationed in Kha Maung Taung Village for more than a day and withdrew at around 8 a.m. on January 27. During their presence in the village, the soldiers also arrested and beat a brick kiln worker who was reportedly drunk and wandering nearby, according to residents.

Ahead of the election, gunfire and clashes in the area forced most residents from Sakhan Kyi Village Tract, Kha Maung Taung Village Tract, as well as Htain Twin and Taung Min Pyaung villages, to flee their homes. Many displaced residents only began returning on the evening of January 27, after troops had left the area.

Junta troops burned down more than 45 civilian homes over two days in Ya Laing Village and Thit To Htauk Village, both located within the Dawei Special Economic Zone in Yebyu Township, Dawei District. On February 3, more than 40 houses were set on fire and destroyed in Ya Laing Village. The following day, on February 4, junta troops burned an additional five houses in nearby Thit To Htauk Village.

“More than 40 houses were burned in Ya Laing. People still don’t dare to go back into the village. Some only returned briefly to check on their homes,” a local resident said.

The arson followed clashes on February 3, after resistance forces carried out a drone attack on junta troops stationed at a monastery in Pa Gore Zun Village, Yebyu Township. Fighting between the two sides reportedly lasted several minutes. Shortly after the clashes, junta troops moved into two nearby villages connected to Pa Gore Zun Village and began burning civilian houses. During the drone attack, several local residents who were sheltering inside the monastery in Pa Gore Zun Village were injured. Local sources also reported that five junta soldiers were killed in the incident.

On the morning of February 5, junta troops released local residents who had been detained in Thit To Htauk Village before withdrawing toward an oil palm plantation area west of Ya Laing Village. However, residents remain fearful because the military column remains positioned close enough to re-enter both Ya Laing and Thit To Htauk villages. Some villagers who had briefly returned to check their homes were forced to flee again, amid ongoing fears of renewed military raids and further attacks.

In another case, junta troops carried out a prolonged raid on Maungmagan Village, Long Lone Township, Dawei District, arresting civilians and looting property over a period of ten days. Residents said the troops entered the village following a drone attack by resistance forces on January 25, the same day the junta held its sham election in the area. After the incident, junta soldiers launched house-to-house raids, detaining and interrogating more than 30 villagers.

Following questioning, around 20 people were later released, but more than 10 civilians remained in custody. On February 4, as the troops withdrew from Maungmagan Village, they took those detainees with them to Infantry Battalion (IB) 104. During the operation, junta troops ransacked homes across the village and seized valuable property, including one Faw truck, several motorcycles, and household items, which were loaded onto military vehicles and taken away.

“They took away more than ten civilians they had arrested, and they looted everything of value from the village,” one local resident told HURFOM.

The raids in Maungmagan Village came amid a wider pattern of violence in southern Dawei District. In Yebyu Township, within the Dawei Special Economic Zone, junta troops burned down more than 40 houses in Ya Laing Village on February 3, followed by the destruction of five more homes in Thit Toe Htauk Village on February 4. Residents from affected areas say the ongoing raids, arson attacks, and arrests have left communities living in fear, with many unsure when it will be safe to return home or rebuild their lives.

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