Displaced residents of Pai Khun (Pekon) Township in southern Shan State, near the Karenni State border, have been returning home since early August, but many face severe challenges, including the destruction of their houses by junta forces.

Since late 2024, fighting in Mong Pai (Mobye) Town, Pai Khun Township, forced residents from the town and nearby villages to flee. Now, as they begin to return, some are finding their homes reduced to ashes.

“Some people are now homeless because their houses were completely destroyed. At least 50 families lost their homes to arson and urgently need help,” a returnee said.

According to the Pai Khun Shan Youth Network, junta troops burned 27 houses in Nargon Village, Narhee Village Tract, Pai Khun Township, and about 30 houses in Hsantswea Village, Bantpyin Village Tract, Nyaungshwe Township. The attacks displaced an estimated 200 people.

Junta troops and allied militia members from the Pa-O National Organization (PNO), advancing from the Pekon Lake side on July 26, carried out the burnings, a displaced resident who recently returned told SHAN.

“The junta burned down our house, claiming that People’s Defence Force (PDF) members were hiding in our villages while we were displaced,” he said.

Villages affected include Loipaw, Nampawlon, Lahei, Mahkayhkam, Peinhnekone, Narhee, Narkone, Nyaungmun, Taungpoetgyi, Sinhpyu, and Ngarmu in Pekon Township, as well as Hsantswea, Hsantlate, Loilong, and Taungpoetkwe in neighboring Nyaungshwe Township, with a total of around 10,000 people displaced.

Although many have returned, residents still require substantial assistance for resettlement, an aid worker said.

“Right now, they really need food and shelter first. There’s also a big need for materials to rebuild their homes,” he noted.

Since the junta’s 2021 coup, Myanmar has been plunged into political turmoil, grappling with a deteriorating economy, rising prices, and inflation. A returnee said that constructing a simple 14’x8′ hut with metal roofing and thatch walls now costs around MMK 6 million.

Mong Pai was previously held by Karenni resistance forces, but the junta regained control of the town on July 7 after a six-month offensive. On July 12, the junta reopened the Loikaw-Pekon-Moong Pai-Panglaung (Pinlaung) Highway, a key route linking southern Shan State with Karenni State.