A man displaced by fighting in southern Shan lost one of his legs when he stepped on a concealed landmine upon returning to his home in Hsihseng town.

A man, requesting anonymity, informed SHAN that U Khun Htee, who resides in a displaced camp, was gathering his belongings from his property when he inadvertently stepped on the landmine in front of his house in Mya Kan Tha Ward in the Pa-O Self-administered Zone on April 1st.

The Pa-O National Liberation Organisation/Army (PNLO/A), which resumed fighting with the Burma army after recently ending its ceasefire, has reported that regime soldiers are compelling people to return to Hsihseng town from displaced camps while wearing traditional Pa-O dress.

The armed group alleges that the junta is using them as human shields and are circulating photos of them online to falsely depict the town as open. It claims that the regime has abducted at least 20 people who entered the town, and their whereabouts remain unknown.

According to the Pa-O Youth Organisation, clashes in Hsihseng, Hopong, and Pinlaung townships in recent months have resulted in the deaths of at least 55 civilians, including women and children, with 70 others sustaining injuries.