Internally displaced persons (IDPs) returning to their homes in Yawnghwe (Nyaungshwe) Township are facing crippling financial extortion by the Pa-O National Organization (PNO) militia, which is forcing families to pay millions of kyats to buy their way out of military conscription.

According to local residents, the PNO militia demanded 15 recruits this year from villages across Lin Lan (South) Village Tract, including Taung Po Kwe, Ho Pan, Nam Pun, and Hti Ri. With few young people remaining in the war-affected communities and widespread resistance to joining the militia, families are instead being compelled to pay hefty cash buyouts.

“We only recently returned home after fleeing the fighting. Now they are forcing us to pay if we don’t want to serve as soldiers. Our household alone had to pay more than 8.3 million kyats (approximately US$1,874). Other families have been ordered to pay different amounts, such as 3 million or 2 million kyats,” a resident of Yawnghwe Township told SHAN.

Residents said that last year, villages across the same tract were collectively forced to pay 1.1 billion kyats in substitution fees for 20 recruits. Although villagers appealed for relief after another recruitment order was issued this year, the PNO reduced the quota only to 15 recruits while continuing to enforce mandatory cash payments from households unable to provide personnel.

To meet these mounting financial demands, returning families have been forced to sell essential assets, including motorcycles, gold jewelry, and even the farmland they depend on for their livelihoods.

In addition to the conscription buyouts, residents said they are also required to pay a monthly food levy of 10,000 kyats per household to support stationed PNO militia members.

“Because we don’t have the money, we have to borrow from lenders at exorbitant interest rates. Some people are selling their farmland, motorcycles, and jewelry just to make the payments,” the resident said.

The financial burden has been compounded by worsening economic conditions in the agricultural region. Falling corn prices this year, coupled with soaring costs for seeds and fuel, have pushed many returning farming families deeper into hardship.

Meanwhile, villagers living in conflict-affected areas along the Shan–Karenni border continue to face landmine threats on rural roads and farmland. Residents also reported that armed groups have demanded money from local communities to clear landmines and unexploded ordnance.

SHAN’s attempts to contact the Pa-O National Organization/Pa-O National Army (PNO/PNA) and relevant regional authorities for comment were unsuccessful. Residents said the PNO has warned of severe punishment for anyone found leaking information about the extortion, leaving many villagers too fearful to speak publicly.

Human rights monitors say that since Myanmar’s military regime enforced the nationwide conscription law, several ethnic armed organizations and pro-junta militias have increasingly resorted to forced recruitment and coercive taxation to bolster their ranks, placing an even heavier burden on civilians.