Junta Shelling and Airstrikes Escalate in Kyaik Hto and Eastern Bago, Forcing Thousands to Flee

April 30, 2025

Mon State / Eastern Bago – April 30, 2025

Field documentation teams have confirmed that starting from the last week of April, junta forces escalated both artillery shelling and aerial bombings across several villages located between Kyaik Hto Township in Mon State and Shwe Kyin Township in Eastern Bago Region. These attacks targeted areas without active fighting and caused multiple civilian injuries and mass displacement.

According to local monitors, a clash broke out on April 23 between the junta and combined Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) troops near Kwin Seik Village in Shwe Kyin Township, Eastern Bago. Following this, junta forces indiscriminately shelled and bombed several nearby Mon State villages, including Kha Ywe, Pyin Kadoe, and Painnae Gone, as well as villages in the conflict-adjacent zone — Nyaung Chay Htauk and Win Kan.

At approximately 12:00 PM on April 23, the Artillery Regiment Command No. 310, based in Kyaik Hto, fired at least nine artillery shells toward the area surrounding Khaywe Village.

“The shells landed across our village — two in the Mon Su section, three near the football field, and four just outside the village. The fighting had just happened earlier that day in Shwe Kyin, but we had no time to escape before the shells started falling. Two people from our ward were hit,” said a local resident from Khaywe Village.

According to witnesses, two civilians from the Mon Su section of Khaywe — Ko Chat Gyi (age 34) and Daw Moe (age 47) — were seriously injured by shrapnel from the shelling.

The artillery attacks forced approximately 500 villagers from Khaywe to flee. Most have sought safety in makeshift bomb shelters or nearby forested areas, according to local accounts.

Displacement was also reported across the Sittaung River on the Eastern Bago side, where civilians from the affected villages in Shwe Kyin Township began fleeing to safer locations. On the Mon side, residents from Kyaik Hto have been fleeing toward Theinzayat town and the surrounding areas.

Preliminary data suggests that more than 4,800 people from at least ten villages in Shwe Kyin Township — including Kwin Seik — have now been displaced due to recent fighting.

“There’s fighting all along the eastern side of the Sittaung River. At least 1,000 IDPs have already arrived in Theinzayat town, and more are coming every day. Most are sheltering at monasteries,” said a resident of Theinzayat.

Displaced villagers now living in Theinzayat are taking refuge in monasteries or staying with relatives in town. Many are in urgent need of humanitarian support, including food, clothing, and medical care.

Locals report that the conflict zone is widening along the Shwe Kyin–Theinzayat road and expanding eastward to the banks of the Sittaung River, suggesting that the number of displaced families may continue to rise in the coming days.

Though some IDPs are managing for now by selling personal belongings they carried with them, aid workers warn that long-term support will be essential, as basic needs grow and resources dwindle.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News