Nearly 800 civilians from Min Thar village tract in Yebyu Township, Tanintharyi Region, are facing severe shortages of food and medical care after being displaced by ongoing armed clashes for nearly two weeks, according to local aid workers assisting those affected.
Fierce fighting broke out on April 20 when the joint resistance forces of Mon, Karen, and Tanintharyi launched an assault on junta camps in Min Thar village. The fighting has forced residents from at least five villages—Sin Shwe, Ye Ngan Gyi, Phayar Thone Su, Sein Bohn, and Kywel Thalin—to flee their homes.
“Many are taking refuge wherever they can—fields, plantations, nearby forests, or even the edges of villages where fighting hasn’t yet reached. Only a few have made it to official displacement camps. Others are scattered, so it’s difficult to reach them with aid,” said a local helping the displaced.
He added, “People need medicine—some have fevers and possible malaria. There’s a lack of rice and medicine, and clean water is also scarce. For now, they are surviving on seasonal vegetables they find near their shelters, like in the plantations around Kyauk Kadin. Those who can are fleeing as far as Yebyu town.”
Since April 22, civilians from villages such as Yarphoo, Kywel Thalin, Kyauk Kutin, Middle Camp, and U Yin Chan have fled along the Yebyu-Dawei highway, with many still in hiding.
On May 7, the junta’s Mawrawaddy Navy reportedly advanced toward Kywel Thone Nyi Ma village using motorboats and shelled Nat Kyi Sin village, forcing villagers to flee to higher ground near Pauk Pin Kwin village.
“There hasn’t been direct fighting yet, but artillery shells exploded in the village football field and near the head monk’s residence. People from both Min Thar and Nat Kyi Sin village tracts have fled to nearby hills,” said the source.
Local sources reported that junta battalions based in Kalein Aung and the Mawrawaddy naval base, including Light Infantry Battalion 282, are continuing to shell the villages in the area.
Mon villages such as Middle Camp, Yarphoo, Kywel Thalin, Kyauk Kadin, and Sin Shwe have seen mass displacement since clashes began on April 20. As a result, summer Mon literacy classes in the area have also been suspended.
Meanwhile, state media announced that the military junta has extended its so-called “temporary ceasefire” until May 31. However, despite the declared truce, there were 244 junta airstrikes in April alone, killing at least 201 civilians and injuring over 300 more.
Armed conflict continues to intensify in southern Myanmar this May, with the number of displaced civilians continuing to rise.
