At least 30 houses were burned down after junta troops and members of the Pa-O National Organization (PNO) militia jointly launched an offensive on a village in the western part of Pai Khun (Pekon) Township, southern Shan State, according to local sources.

A staff member from the Pekon Shan Youth Network told SHAN that at around 4 p.m. on October 13, military and PNO forces entered Baw Yan village, located in Hkawng Ei village tract, and set fire to the lower part of the village.

“At least 30 houses were completely reduced to ashes. The military is still stationed inside the village,” the official said.

Baw Yan village, home to about 200 households and roughly 1,000 residents, came under attack shortly after the combined forces clashed with Karenni revolutionary coalition groups nearby on October 11.

Since then, nearly all residents have fled to nearby villages or into the forest, leaving behind only a few men to guard what remains.

“People are no longer gathered in one place. Everyone ran. They are hiding wherever they can,” the youth network official added.

Local sources estimate that around 4,000 civilians have been displaced by recent offensives carried out by junta and PNO troops along the Pai Khun–Pang Laung (Pinlaung) and Pai Khun–Karenni (Kayah) borders.

Similar incidents were reported earlier this month. On October 9 and 10, joint forces reportedly entered Myauk Sa Lone village, on the Pai Khun–Pang Laung border, and set several homes ablaze.

In another incident during the first week of October, a PNO soldier allegedly shot and killed a 60-year-old villager in Nawng Htaw village, Hsihseng Township, after the man gave him a small pig instead of a larger one when soldiers demanded livestock from locals.

“The soldier was angry that the pig was small, so he shot the villager dead. They are now trying to silence the news,” said a man familiar with the incident.

Residents of Nawng Htaw village have reportedly been threatened not to speak to the media or share information about the killing. Locals said the PNO warned that any village found supporting resistance groups would face collective punishment for “security reasons.”