Mass Displacement in Kyaik Hto Township as Junta Launches Major Ground Offensive

May 20, 2025

HURFOM: One of the most alarming military escalations in recent months is unfolding in Kyaik Hto Township, Thaton District, Mon State. Since the third week of May, more than 18,000 people from at least 35 villages have been forced to flee as the junta intensifies a brutal ground assault. The sheer speed and scale of this displacement signal a worsening humanitarian emergency in southeastern Burma.

According to HURFOM’s field monitors, the offensive is being carried out by nearly 500 junta soldiers from the 101st Light Infantry Division and the 207th Battalion under the 44th Division. These troops have invaded civilian areas via two main routes, targeting previously stable villages including Win Kan, Khruel, Pyin Ka Toe Kone, Zee Pyone, and Kyauk Phyar.

The impact on the ground is devastating. Thousands of residents had already been displaced earlier this year. Now, an additional 15,000 people have joined them, fleeing with almost nothing. Families are hiding in jungle areas, under trees, in monastery compounds, or in makeshift shelters built from scraps. Others are taking refuge with relatives in nearby villages. Access to food, clean water, shelter, and medicine is critically low.

“We didn’t even have time to collect our things,” said a displaced villager from Win Kan. “We ran when we heard the shelling, and we don’t know when we can go back—if ever.”
KNU officials believe the junta’s objective is to reclaim resistance-held territory and crush the presence of Ethnic Revolutionary Organizations (EROs) and PDF-affiliated groups. But it is civilians—families, children, the elderly—who are paying the highest price.

Local humanitarian teams working alongside the EROs confirm that at least 2,800 homes from seven village tracts have been abandoned. Emergency needs have skyrocketed. Supplies of rice, drinking water, tarps, and basic medicine are either depleted or nonexistent in most areas. Access to affected people is extremely difficult due to active fighting, landmines, and blocked roads.

“This is no longer a short-term crisis,” said a representative of a local CBO. “The shelling hasn’t stopped, airstrikes continue, and these families will be in hiding for weeks or even months. We urgently need sustained, adequate support—this is beyond what local teams alone can handle.”

KNU and the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP) are warning that unless the international community steps in quickly, the humanitarian crisis will deepen. With junta forces continuing to carry out attacks—even in places without active resistance activity—there is no safe return in sight for most IDPs.

“We are doing everything we can, but our resources are already stretched to the limit,” added one local fieldworker. “We need emergency food, medicine, and shelter supplies, and we need them now.”

HURFOM strongly urges international actors, donors, and humanitarian organizations to respond immediately and meaningfully. Aid must be delivered directly through trusted local and community-based networks, which remain closest to the ground and most capable of reaching those in need—before more lives are lost or pushed deeper into crisis.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News