Military junta troops abducted approximately 200 civilians from Pu Chei village of Kone Hson village tract, Pekon Township, southern Shan State, on 11 November as they were returning from harvesting rice, the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) reported on 13 November.
While the exact reason for their detention remains unclear, KNDF Information Officer Ta Eh Soe said that the arrests were carried out by junta troops advancing from Pinlaung Township toward Pekon Township.
“It was the junta troops advancing toward Pekon. We are still investigating which specific military unit was involved,” Ta Eh Soe said.
The 200 abducted civilians are reportedly being held at a sports facility in Pinlaung Township, an area controlled by the junta and its affiliated Pa-O National Organisation (PNO).
Currently, information about the identities, ages, and genders of those detained is still being investigated.
Despite ongoing clashes in the Pekon-Pinlaung Township border area, local farmers have been forced to harvest their rice crops under the threat of artillery fire and airstrikes from the military junta.
Some farmers from villages near the conflict zone have been unable to harvest their crops and have become internally displaced.
According to KNDF’s statement, junta forces advancing toward Pekon Township have broken into and burned homes in several villages including Nam Hpar Mu, Pin Son, Loi Keng, Kone Paw, Ban Mauk, and residential areas in Pekon town. They have also conducted airstrikes on villages and IDP camps not related to the fighting.
In November, the junta’s airstrikes and drone attacks in Pekon Township resulted in six civilian deaths, including an 8-year-old child, and injured five others.
According to reports, over 20,000 people have been displaced by the fighting near villages in the Pekon-Pinlaung Township border area.
Sent by Kantarawaddy Times.