Displaced residents from Kin Mun Chon village, located to the west of Zayatgyi in Htantabin Township, Taungoo District, Bago Region, who have been displaced for six months, are unable to return home as junta troops have opened checkpoints and blocked several roads and sections of the village, according to the affected villagers.
After an exchange of fighting between the military council and revolutionary forces in August 2024, the military council restricted people’s movement by blocking the main village road and several other sections, effectively banning entry and exit.
Due to the road section ban, residents from nearby villages such as Thein Gone, Shan Su, Mon Kone, Shwe Bagan, Doe Tan, and Shwe Kyin Su are unable to return home and are forced to remain at the temporary displacement site.
A local from Shan Su village said, “There has been no fighting. We can’t return home because the military council is present there. They haven’t blocked all of Kinmunchon village, but they’ve opened checkpoints and blocked areas near the main road and some road sections. I had to sneak into my house through the west road like a thief.”
According to the villagers, junta soldiers are looting materials from houses and shops along the blocked road sections and are taking shelter in some abandoned homes.
Some villagers who are unable to return home have sought refuge in Za Yat Gyi and Taungoo towns. However, they are facing long-term livelihood difficulties as they cannot engage in their usual income-generating activities in the village, according to the villagers.
A local woman from Kinmunchon said, “We used to farm in our village. The paddy fields were flooded during the flooding, and we lost everything because we couldn’t return home. We lost our capital. Since the displacement, we’ve heard that some abandoned houses were burgled. Nothing was left in my house due to the theft.”
During last year’s paddy harvesting season, junta soldiers did not allow villagers to enter Kinmunchon for harvesting. They even collected checkpoint toll fees, according to the villagers.
During the early stages of fighting, when the region lacked stability, junta soldiers killed several civilians from the western part of Zayatgyi who had gone to the town, accusing them of being PDF members. In September of last year, a man from Kinmunchon village was seriously injured after stepping on a landmine in his own compound.
Sent by KIC
