The Pa-O National Army (PNA) has threatened villages near Sakar town in Nyaungshwe Township, southern Shan State, to provide one four-wheel vehicle per village by the third week of August, according to local sources.
A local woman from Min village in Nyaungshwe Township said: “Everyone is struggling. We now have to pay over Ks 10,000 for a one-liter bottle of fuel. Their actions amount to robbing the people. In the past, they treated the Pa-O people very well, but now they’re behaving just like the junta.”
The PNA has threatened residents of Min and Naungbo villages in Nyaungshwe Township to provide a vehicle. Additionally, the PNA has ordered people from Huyan, Sakarin, Lin Lan, and Kone Thar villages in Pekon Township to provide military expenses and deliver daily rations, according to local residents.
The PNA has stated that rations must be sent daily to Htiri village using the vehicles that are to be purchased.
They have also threatened to bomb any villages that do not comply with this order.
A source close to the village head of Lin Lam village said, “Residents from Pa-O village are being conscripted for military service and will be sent to the frontlines after three days of training. Lin Lam is a Shan village, and its residents are not included in the conscription list because the village head negotiated an exemption.”
Residents of these villages fled the conflict in the last week of June and returned home in early August after the PNA threatened to burn the houses of those who did not come back, according to the villagers.
Residents said they spent a significant amount of money fleeing the conflict, and upon their return, the PNA was asking for money for various reasons. As a result, they no longer had items to pawn or sell.
Sent by NMG