Over 10,000 Civilians Displaced by Junta’s Brutal Attacks in Kyaik Hto Township, Mon State

May 17, 2025

The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Kyaik Hto Township, Mon State, has now surpassed 10,000 as relentless military attacks by the junta continue to escalate. The Karen National Union (KNU) in Thaton District confirmed the surge in displacement and highlighted the urgent need for emergency humanitarian aid.

Since early April 2025, the situation in Kyaik Hto Township, Mon State, has sharply deteriorated due to intensified clashes between junta troops and joint resistance forces. The military has increasingly relied on daily artillery shelling and airstrikes, targeting civilian areas with no regard for safety or international humanitarian law.

According to the KNU’s Thaton District administration, indiscriminate shelling and air raids have forced at least 10,721 villagers from 21 villages in the Win Kan, Kha Yawe, and Pyin Kadoe Kone village tracts to flee their homes. Families are now scattered across jungles, farms, and makeshift shelters, facing severe shortages of food, medicine, clothing, and shelter.

“As more columns of junta troops enter the area, more people are being forced to flee,” said Phado Saw Aye Naing, Secretary of the KNU’s Thaton District. “The biggest needs are food and medical care. People are too afraid of airstrikes to return to their homes.”

Fighting has intensified since May 15, when the junta launched heavy artillery shelling into the Win Kan area and deployed additional ground forces. Local monitors have recorded 32 artillery attacks and 9 aerial bombings in Kyaik Hto Township so far this month alone. These attacks have resulted in at least seven civilians injured and over 25 homes destroyed.

Although the KNU and several community-based organizations are doing their best to respond, the scale of displacement is overwhelming. Access to many affected areas remains extremely difficult due to ongoing hostilities and the constant threat of airstrikes.

HURFOM continues to monitor the worsening humanitarian crisis in Mon State. The plight of civilians in Kyaik Hto, who are caught between war and neglect, underscores the urgent need for international attention and life-saving support to reach those displaced by violence.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News