Military tensions continue to escalate in Ye Township in southern Mon State. An area located along a major trade route connecting Mon State and Tanintharyi Region, Ye Township has become a key front in the struggle for territorial control between the military junta and local resistance forces.
The current situation on the ground in Ye Township is marked by intense competition between the junta’s strategic bases and checkpoints in urban and other areas, and resistance groups whose territorial control has been strengthening. Security checks have become increasingly strict, particularly along the Ye–Dawei highway, as both sides seek to control strategically important sections of the road.
Amid the intensifying military confrontation in Ye Township, the military junta has conducted not only ground offensives but also airstrikes targeting areas where resistance forces may be present. The junta has also carried out airstrikes in the Ye Chaung Phyar area, a territory controlled by the New Mon State Party (NMSP), with which the junta has been holding talks.
Military Situation in Ye Township
During May and June, junta forces carried out repeated ground offensives and airstrikes in Ye Township in southern Mon State. In particular, the junta conducted continuous aerial reconnaissance to identify areas where resistance forces might be operating and to facilitate airstrikes against those locations.
Local military sources also reported that large numbers of powered paragliders and drones were being transported to the junta’s No. 19 Military Operations Command based in Ye Township.
In addition to conducting airstrikes against areas where resistance forces may be located, junta forces have also carried out airstrikes in territory controlled by the NMSP, despite ongoing talks between the two sides.
On June 18, junta forces dropped two 500-pound bombs from an aircraft on an area in Ye Chaung Phyar where more than 70 houses, as well as a school, had been built around 2013 with support from the Japanese government for the NMSP.
Although no one was injured in the airstrike, the school and nearly all of the houses were damaged or destroyed, forcing local residents to flee to safer areas.
On June 3, junta forces also dropped two 500-pound bombs from an aircraft on the NMSP-controlled Ye Chaung Phyar area, killing one civilian and damaging several homes.
Similarly, in the early morning of May 27, junta forces carried out an airstrike with a fighter jet on a base of the Ye Belu resistance group operating in Ye Township. At least 10 members of the Ye Belu group were reportedly killed and around 20 others injured.
Around the end of June, junta columns numbering more than 150 troops also attempted to advance toward Waizin Camp, an area under NMSP control.
Junta Columns of More Than 150 Troops
Junta troops have also advanced in separate columns toward Mok Kanin, Nyaung Kha Yin, Thabye Ywar Thit, Kaw Dut and Thabye villages in northern Ye Township, where resistance forces have established control. Military activity has also increased in southern Ye Township.
A Ye resident said, “They did not advance all the way to the NMSP’s Waizin Camp. They advanced from Waipone village, before reaching Waizin, toward Kan Ni Mountain and Pin Nye Taw. The military’s movements are not limited to NMSP-controlled areas. They have also begun providing security in areas such as Khawzar.”
During July, junta columns that had been preparing to advance toward NMSP-controlled territory withdrew. They are now once again attempting to establish control over the Ye–Dawei section of Union Highway No. 8.
Local Security Situation
Junta airstrikes have forced more than 1,000 civilians from at least five villages to flee their homes. The advance of military columns has also resulted in arrests, displacement and difficulties for local residents who rely on farms and plantations for their livelihoods.
With airstrikes currently having subsided, some displaced residents have begun returning home and resuming agricultural work. However, a resident of the Ye Chaung Phyar area said they continue to travel cautiously because the security situation remains unstable.
“Not all of the displaced people have returned. Some are still staying away because they are afraid of airstrikes. Others have had to return home because of their financial situation. Plantation workers cannot afford to stop working because they need to make a living, so they monitor the security situation carefully and only go to plantations nearby. The military has not entered the area yet,” said a resident of Ye Chaung Phyar area.
In southern Mon State’s Ye Township, the junta appears to be increasingly relying on airstrikes rather than ground operations, while also seeking to put pressure on resistance groups’ movements and supply routes.
The junta’s shift in military strategy is affecting not only military targets but also civilians, leaving thousands of people facing hardship and displacement.
