The Myanmar military has reinforced its positions in Nawng Ping village, Kyaukme Township, Shan State, and is preventing displaced residents from returning. Locals report that troops have looted homes and brutally assaulted a man who attempted to retrieve his belongings.

Since the second week of September, soldiers from Light Infantry Division 11 have been rotating into the area via the repaired Gote Twin road section. A military source said commanding officers are now stationed inside Nawng Ping and issuing direct operational orders.

“The troops are coming from Nawnghkio. They are advancing on foot from Gote Twin towards Nawng Ping. The Bailey bridge is anchored on both sides, but vehicles can’t cross yet. Military troops are also using drones and launched airstrikes this morning,” the source told SHAN.

Residents said junta troops have entered homes in Nawng Ping and taken valuables, including refrigerators and motorbike parts. Displaced villagers have been strictly prohibited from returning.

“They beat a man who tried to collect his belongings so badly that he had to be carried away on a stretcher,” said a volunteer assisting displaced people. “They absolutely won’t let anyone back into the village.”

Fighting in the area has been ongoing for more than three weeks, with the military firing heavy weapons along the Union Highway and launching ground assaults toward nearby villages such as Hkaik Ton Houng, forcing more residents to flee.

Both military sources and locals confirmed that after the Gote Hteik Bridge on the Gote Twin road section was mined and destroyed on August 24, junta engineers built a temporary Bailey bridge to enable troop movements. The military is reportedly preparing for a major ground offensive toward Kyaukme town.

Meanwhile, in Nawnghkio Township, villagers from the Kone San area said they were forced to perform unpaid labor along the railway line ahead of a senior official’s visit.

“Since the time of COVID-19, trains haven’t been running, so bushes have grown along the railway line. They said a senior official was coming and forced villagers from the Kone San area to provide free labor. They made them go and cut wild sunflowers by the railway,” a local told SHAN.

The Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) reported on September 9 that between August 18 and 30, 29 civilians were killed, 66 injured, and over 8,600 displaced in Kyaukme Township due to junta airstrikes, artillery fire, and ground offensives.