In Kyaukme Town, Kyaukme Township, Shan State, junta troops have intensified arrests of individuals suspected of having ties to the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and have posted notices on homes and shops declaring them confiscated.

The junta recaptured the previously TNLA-controlled town of Kyaukme on October 1. Since then, soldiers have carried out manhunts in central wards, targeting alleged former TNLA collaborators. Locals report that those arrested have had their homes and businesses seized by the junta.

“Anyone suspected of having connections with the TNLA or the National Unity Government (NUG) is being arrested, although we don’t know the exact number. Some shops have red notices posted on them stating they have been confiscated. We have also heard that the junta is targeting people who were appointed as ward administrators when the TNLA was in control,” said a Kyaukme resident.

In the last week of October, junta troops forcibly closed and sealed the Zay Thit tea shop in Ward 6 of Kyaukme, arresting the owner and declaring the property confiscated. Locals say at least eight people are currently being interrogated in junta detention, although SHAN cannot independently verify this information.

The One Love Hotel, which was hit by a junta airstrike at the beginning of the second phase of Operation 1027—an offensive led by the TNLA and allied groups against the coup regime—has also been seized by the junta.

“The junta is targeting people who worked under the TNLA when it controlled the area. These individuals openly collaborated with the TNLA at the time. On Telegram, pro-junta channels are actively pushing for their arrest, and it’s highly likely that more people known to have assisted the TNLA will be detained,” the source added.

On July 15, the junta recaptured the former TNLA-controlled town of Nawnghkio (Naungcho) in northern Shan State and subsequently seized around 20 homes and a gold shop belonging to alleged supporters of the TNLA and the Danu People’s Liberation Army (DPLA).

Additionally, displaced youths who returned to their villages in Tawnghkam Village Tract in Nawnghkio Township after fighting subsided were detained by junta troops on unsubstantiated allegations of supporting the TNLA, DPLA, and People’s Defence Force (PDF), resulting in the arrest of more than 30 returnees.

After retaking Nawnghkio in mid-July, the junta also recaptured Kyaukme and Hsipaw (Thibaw) in October—towns in northern Shan State previously under TNLA control. However, residents whose homes were destroyed during Operation 1027, as well as those facing ongoing landmine threats in their villages, remain unable to return from displacement.