Between November 10th and the 30th, 2023, the military junta and revolutionary forces engaged in armed clashes in Kyikemayaw Township, Mon State. Junta forces have targeted villages with both artillery and air assaults.
People including children have been killed and houses destroyed. As of today, more than 20,000 residents have fled their homes.
It is now harvest season, but villagers have fled, leaving local farmers with a serious labor shortage.
“There is no one in the villages where the armed clash broke out. Everyone is running away. Last year, if we couldn’t hire workers in our village, we could hire them in nearby villages. Now, we can’t get any workers even though we offer to pay extra money,” said a farmer in Kyikemayaw Township.
In addition to the labor shortage, farmers are not safe due to the artillery and air assaults. On November 29, the junta launched an artillery attack on Kaw Pa Naw village that destroyed houses, forcing residents to flee their homes.
“We can’t hire workers so we’ve decided to harvest the grain with farm machinery. But the owner of farm machinery said he wasn’t brave enough to do the farm work. Now, the grain is ready to harvest. But we can’t hire either workers or machinery. The farmers who own a bit more than an acre of farmland are in huge trouble,” said one local farmer.
Junta’s troops are stationed at an active nearby farm. They frequently patrol the area and interrogate local farmers.
“Sometimes, we find soldiers near our farm. If they see people in the hut, they come and ask questions. They did nothing but we’re really frightened,” said another farmer from Kyikemayaw Township.
The conflict in Kyaikmarraw township has persisted into early December. Local residents concern a potential escalation in the fighting, fueled by the joint revolutionary forces gaining control of the region and the junta bolstering its strength.
