Junta Reinforces Troops in Thaton and Ye to Expand Constituencies, Raising Fears of Rights Violations

August 26, 2025

HURFOM: In the lead-up to the junta’s planned sham election, the military has deployed hundreds of reinforcements to battalions based in Thaton and Ye Townships, Mon State. Local residents fear that this expansion of troops will only bring more human rights abuses, including arrests of young people, extortion, looting, torture, and even extrajudicial killings.

Since early August, more than 300 soldiers have been added to existing units in Thaton, along with large supplies of weapons and ammunition. Similar reinforcements have been observed along the Thanbyuzayat–Ye highway and into Ye Township, areas the junta is attempting to redraw as constituencies for the upcoming vote.

“The presence of more troops means more danger for us. Young people will be targeted, and abuses will increase. Until the election is over, we feel it will be very difficult to live safely,” one resident told HURFOM.

“Ahead of their so-called election, the junta’s main priority is to expand constituencies, even in areas now controlled by resistance forces. Their only goal is to claim they can hold polls everywhere, no matter how unrealistic or illegitimate it is. In the process, they completely ignore the human rights violations committed by their troops.
For decades, the military has operated under a culture of impunity, never holding its soldiers accountable for atrocities. Today is no different. Their so-called ‘self-reliance policy’ gives soldiers a free license to abuse civilians — from extortion and arbitrary arrests to torture and worse — under the excuse of sustaining themselves.
For ordinary people, this means more abuses and an even greater loss of basic rights. I fear the coming months will bring even more suffering for our communities, as the junta pushes ahead with its sham election plans at any cost.”
— 63-year-old former NLD party member, Thaton Township

HURFOM field sources confirm that at least eight battalions are stationed in Thaton Township alone, each reportedly reinforced with hundreds of soldiers. A Commando from the Ye Township–based Ramonnya Guerrilla Force (RGF) warned that the build-up could be a precursor to new offensives against villages under the control of the People’s Defense Forces, the Ethnic Resistance Armed Forces, and allied resistance forces.
Resistance forces are preparing for clashes, and locals fear intensified fighting: “If the junta pushes into our areas, battles will be fierce,” a PDF fighter explained.
Thaton is among the constituencies the junta plans to include in its election map. Yet most of the rural villages there are under the administration of the KNU and People’s Defense Forces. Locals see the junta’s actions not as preparation for a free and fair election, but as part of its violent campaign to seize control through force.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News