Weekly Analysis: Junta-Backed Militias in Mawlamyine Threaten and Terrorize Villagers Ahead of Sham Elections

September 8, 2025

The military junta has announced that it will move forward with its sham election at the end of December 2025. The Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) has strongly condemned this illegal attempt to assert its stolen rule. Across our targeted areas of Mon State, Karen State and the Tanintharyi region, junta-backed security forces and allies have begun implementing fear-mongering tactics to ensure the junta’s victory.

In Mawlamyine, Mon State, junta-backed militias under the banner of “People’s Security Forces” and allied groups are increasingly behaving like criminal gangs. Instead of providing protection, they have been abusing power, harassing locals, and spreading fear.

Residents report that these groups roam the streets and villages in large numbers, often drunk, extorting money, and even dealing in narcotics. They randomly detain people, seize motorbikes, and conduct intimidation campaigns. “They wear blue uniforms and act like thugs. If they see you at the wrong time or place, they drag you off, question you, or sometimes make you disappear,” said one young resident.

Local youths are also being lured into these militias with false promises that they will avoid frontline conscription if they join. Recruits are told they can remain in their villages, enjoy privileges, and even take part in drug use without punishment.

A villager noted: “They tell young people: join us, and you won’t be sent to fight. You can stay home and do whatever you like. But once you join, they control you.”

“One day, I was just walking at 6:30 AM, and they seized every motorbike on the road. Another day, they rounded us up at 4 AM on the street,” one young resident shared. “They drag people off by name, or call them in if they cross paths. It’s random, it’s frightening. They act like a force, but in reality, they scare everyone.”

Authorities tied to these militias sometimes release those close to them—village administrators or friendly officials—after extorting money. Others are taken away without a word. This unchecked abuse of power is leaving communities shattered.

“In villages where these forces barge through, they stop daily life: they check guest lists, stop celebrations, even guard tiny events. It’s as if they run the town, not us,” another villager said.

Those with connections to ward administrators or junta-aligned figures are sometimes released after paying bribes, but others remain unaccounted for. “If you know someone, you can pay and be freed. If not, you just disappear,” another resident explained.

This lawless behaviour is part of a broader strategy. On August 30, 2025, the junta secretly announced the formation of a new nationwide committee tasked with training, arming, and supplying militias at the ward and village levels. Signed by General Aung Lin Dwe, the junta’s secretary, the order places control of these groups under the Ministry of Border Affairs, with vice-chair roles assigned to the deputy defence and home affairs ministers, and seats allocated to the police chief and military department heads.

According to the directive, the panel will arrange the supply of food, arms, and training, provide logistical support for military operations, and oversee recruitment and personnel management. It will even compensate families of militia members killed or wounded and recruit technicians for advanced weapons. In return, recruits can receive deferments or exemptions from conscription.

This escalation comes two weeks after the military lost the Northeastern Command in Shan State and six months after it announced mandatory military service. With military casualties surging and recruitment collapsing, the junta is turning civilians into armed enforcers.

Human rights monitors warn that these militias are becoming indistinguishable from thugs. They operate with total impunity, looting homes, shaking down residents, and abusing power in daily life. “These groups are supposed to keep order, but they act like criminals,” a villager from Mawlamyine said. “Now people are even afraid to pass through their checkpoints.”

The pattern mirrors wider repression across southern Burma. In Tanintharyi Region, HURFOM field teams documented a sharp rise in violence, with airstrikes tripling in July 2025 compared to June, and over 82,800 civilians displaced by late August. This combination of armed militias on the ground and relentless aerial bombardment from above has left people in Mon and Tanintharyi regions living in constant fear.

As the junta pushes ahead with its planned sham election, these militias, armed and unleashed under the guise of “people’s security”, are functioning as instruments of intimidation and repression, silencing communities and tightening the military’s grip on power.

Overview of Main Cases

Junta Abducts Dozens of Men in Mawlamyine for Forced Conscription
At least 25 men were arbitrarily arrested overnight in Mawlamyine town, Mon State, as junta forces intensified forced military conscription drives.

According to local residents, on the night of August 26, junta troops, police, militia groups, and members of the so-called “people’s security and anti-terrorism team” carried out joint operations across the city. Within a single night, at least 28 men were taken away to be used as conscripts.

Nearly 4,000 Villagers Displaced by Fierce Clashes in Yebyu Township
Continuous fighting in Yebyu Township has forced nearly 4,000 villagers from 10 villages to flee their homes in urgent need of emergency assistance, according to locals and rescue groups.

From August 15 to August 28, clashes broke out almost daily near Mayan Chaung village between junta forces and allied resistance groups, including Mon, Karen, and Dawei revolutionary forces.

Monastery Buildings Destroyed by Junta Airstrike in Pulaw Township
Monasteries were targeted and destroyed by a junta airstrike in Za Yat Seik village, Pulaw Township, Myeik District.

Three buildings inside a Buddhist monastery compound were destroyed after a fighter jet dropped bombs and fired machine guns over the village.

At around 1:08 PM on August 29, without any ongoing clashes in the area, a military aircraft bombed Za Yat Seik village. The monastery’s dining hall, kitchen, and another building were completely destroyed. “They dropped two bombs that could each weigh around 300 pounds. Three buildings were completely destroyed. The two-story main monastery building was slightly damaged. No monks were injured,” a resident explained.

Junta Troop Movements Force Villagers to Flee in Nabule Area, Yebyu Township, Dawei District
Junta troops advancing through villages in the Nabule area of Yebyu Township, Dawei District, forced residents to flee their homes on the morning of August 29. According to displaced villagers, soldiers from the temporary military base at the Dawei Special Economic Zone and deep-sea port began moving through Htein Kyi, Lae Shaung, and Paradat villages around 6 AM.