21-23 January
Clashes first occurred between the Sit-Tat, PNA and PNLA in Sam Hpu village, Mae Nae Taung region, Hopong township, over the issue of weapon transportation by the PNLA. Fighting broke out on 21 January after arguments escalated between these groups, destroying 27 houses and inflicting civilian casualties. The same night, the PNLO/PNLA liaison office was raided by the SAC’s Office of the Chief of Military Security Affairs. Three PNLA liaison officers were arrested: Major Khun Min Thein, Captain Khun Thait Di and Lt. Khun Hla Win. After negotiations, they were released the following morning. But later the same day, between 7 PM and 8 PM, the Sit-Tat used fighter jets to drop two bombs on Nawng Htaw, where the PNLO HQ is located, injuring two people and killing one IDP. In response, on 23 January the PNLA and allied forces seized four Sit-Tat and PNO/PNA road-gates and stations without opening fire.
24-25 January
On the morning of 24 January, local people from Hsihseng started to relocate to Hopong and Taunggyi due to the deepening tensions. Others remained trapped in the town. At about 5 PM, the SAC used fighter jets to open fire on Hsihseng and reinforced their troops. The PNLA and allied groups, meanwhile, also reinforced their positions. The same day, the PNLO/PNLA released a statement informing the local people that they were there to patrol, providing protection to the town and not to harm them. The following day, more residents were helped to escape from their homes, but many of the IDPs reaching Taunggyi were unable to find a place to stay and faced hardship. Fighting then started at about noon in Hsihseng itself, with fires breaking out in some of the wards. The remaining people advised one another to leave for nearby villages. That night, the SAC used fighter jets to bomb non-stop in Nawng Htaw, Nawng Yin, Hsihseng and surrounding areas.
26-29 January
Fighting escalated between the SAC and PNO/PNA on the one hand and PNLA-allied joint forces on the other at about 10 AM in the morning as LIB 423/424 reinforcements were attacked by drones. In response, the SAC used fighter jets and heavy artillery around Hsihseng and four nearby villages. At about 12:20 PM PNA troops led by U Nay Win Tun met with PNLA and allied joint forces on the west side of Lwe Htwe village, Hsihseng township. Subsequently, the PNO called on Pa-O young people to join the PNA to protect local territories and prosperity. The PNLO also released a statement calling on the people to join the cause to end military dictatorship once and for all and build a federal democratic state as a brotherhood. The PNFC welcomed this announcement, calling on the PNO to cooperate and avoid conflicts between Pa-O people.
As the struggle for control of the town continued, clashes spread in the early morning of 28 January from Nam Aw to Hti Man villages. In the afternoon and evening, the SAC again used fighter jets and heavy shelling in attacks on Hsihseng as fighting intensified between LIBs 423/424 and allied resistance forces, leading to the destruction of markets and houses. On 29 January, there were no skirmishes on the ground, but artillery shelling and fighter jet bombing resumed. The PNLO leader, Gen. Khun Thurein announced the movement’s stance on revolution to Buddhist monks and the Pa-O public. The same day, the PNO also announced their position to the people. With arms and ammunition supplied by the Sit-Tat, the PNA began issuing weapons to local people and ordered residents aged between 18 and 35 as well as veterans from PNA training batches 1 to 7 to join the PNO militia by registering their names.
30 January – 3 February
Artillery shelling and jet fighter bombing continued, with the Sit-Tat seeking to regain control of LIB 423/424 camps captured by the PNLA and allied forces. Resistance troops, however, remained present in Hsihseng town. Pressures meanwhile increased on the local population. Sit-Tat and PNA militia were reported to be preventing local people from leaving Hsihseng, while residents were afraid to go back to their homes due to the fighting. Internet connections were cut off and, apart from MYTEL (owned by the Sit-Tat and Vietnamese military company Viettel), there were no other official communication services. Meanwhile the PNO began recruiting young people as soldiers in Taunggyi, the Shan State capital, and on 3 February the PNLO/PNLA published a statement reaffirming their commitment to abolish military dictatorship.
4-6 February
On 4 February, the SAC launched heavy artillery around 6:30 in the morning. Fighting intensified with the PNLA and alliance forces, with Sit-Tat units reported to have fired shells about 50 times that day. Two fighter jets flew over Hsihseng town. The following day, fighting involving the Sit-Tat, PNA and PNLA/alliance forces continued from 5 AM to 8 PM, with many casualties on both sides. Sit-Tat units were reported to have fired heavy artillery over 100 times. A travel ban was imposed in Hsihseng town and Kaung Mu Bar and Hti Man villages, phone connections were cut off in the Ling Pay village area, and two local men from Wah Taw (Wartaw) and Naung Eh villages were killed, with several injured. On 6 February, fighting started again before dawn with clashes intensifying during the day. Around 10 AM, Sit-Tat units began continuously shelling Lwe Pyut (Loi Putt) village to the north of Hsihseng, causing local people to flee.
With no end to the fighting, the number of IDPs was reported to have passed the 70,000 mark, including Karenni IDPs who had previously fled fighting in Kayah State. Those displaced were unable to return home, more houses were destroyed, and soldiers from both sides were preparing new positions in Hsaik Hkawng, Hopong, Mongpon (Mong Pawn) and Loilem townships. Tensions were reported to be increasing on a wide front, and troops from the ceasefire Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) were reported to have arrived to Cho Kham (Hkio Hkam) in the Mongpon area where the SAC was reinforcing its troops. More local residents made preparations to flee. On the third anniversary of the 2021 coup, the SSPP – a member of the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee – released a statement saying that it would join with resistance forces to ‘put an end to the autocracy, chauvinism and expansionism’ of the military regime.
7-14 February
Hsihseng remained the main battleground, with the SAC accused of a total of 263 bombardments, including 500-pound bombs, and firing 311 rounds of artillery shells, inflicting civilian casualties and destroying over 70 buildings during the first two weeks of fighting. Outside the town, the PNLA was reported to have closed the main road between Hsihseng and Hsaik Hkawng to the north as well as smaller country roads. Many IDPs were reported to be sheltering in the forests, while growing numbers continued to seek sanctuary in Shwenyaung and Taunggyi. Here the SAC stepped up the recruitment of young men into the Sit-Tat following the announcement of the People’s Military Service Law on 10 February.
15-20 February
As the struggle for Hsihseng continued, LIBs 425/426 based in Ban Yin village were reported to be shelling nearby villages, killing a baby and local man in Htam Yan village on the night of 17 February as well as injuring seven civilians, including the baby’s parents, in nearby Hti Tam village the following day. No PNLA troops were reported in these villages at the times of these attacks. A heavy barrage was continued by LIB 423 on Hsihseng throughout the night of 18 February. The next day, eight IDPs travelling in three vehicles were wounded by artillery fire near Wah Taw village when they tried to return to the town to retrieve their belongings. In response, the PNLO warned civilians not to attempt further returns until they receive safe warnings. On 17 February, Brig-Gen. Win Zaw Moe, vice commander of the Sit-Tat Eastern Command, handed over more weapons to the PNA, while individuals authorised by the PNO were witnessed conducting patrols in military clothing, armed with guns, in the Hsihseng area.
21-29 February
Fighting escalated in Hopong township. A clash was reported on the 21st morning between a combined Sit-Tat/PNA force and PNLA/allied troops near Mongpon, causing residents of local villages to flee. The following day the Taunggyi-Hopong-Mongpon-Loilem road was closed, with the Sit-Tat positioning an artillery unit at Htam Sam Shwedagon Pagoda Hill which began shelling Meh Nel mountain and the surrounding area. On 23 February a combined Sit-Tat/PNA force were reported to have attacked a PNLA column in the vicinity. The following day, PNLA troops responded by seizing a military camp near Loi Woe Tok village, issuing a statement urging the PNO to abandon its alliance with the SAC and join the PNLO in the struggle for freedom. There were also reports that the SSPP was supporting the PNLA in its battle with the PNA, with the Sit-Tat moving more reinforcements to the area.
1-6 March
On 2 March the SAC claimed to have reopened the road between Hopong and Mongpon after 16 military engagements with the PNLA and allied forces, but clashes continued, with civilians moving to Loilem or nearby villages for shelter. Artillery shelling continued, while the PNLA was reported to have dropped bombs from drones on the LIB-517 base, causing a number of casualties. Fighting, meanwhile, continued in the Hsihseng area, and it was estimated that around 100,000 civilians, including 25,000 Karenni war refugees, had been displaced from 120 villages and six wards in Hsihseng, Hopong and Loilem townships since conflict began in January.
7-14 March
Fighting continued in Hsihseng and Hopong townships, with the PNLA accusing the SAC of two new tactics: ‘kamikaze’ drones and ‘chemical’ bombs, in addition to ‘flame’ bombs, to try and break PNLO-allied resistance. The Sit-Tat was reported to be coordinating actions with the PNA militia from Sike Khaung (Sai Khao), north of Hsihseng. Nearly 400 artillery strikes were counted in a one-week period. A particular escalation was reported, amidst intense clashes, on 10 March when fighter jets dropped over 100 bombs on wards in downtown Hsihseng, and Sit-Tat drones destroyed the Buddhist monastery and local homes in an attack on Pinlyam village, Hopong township. By the calculation of the Pao Youth Organisation (PYO), there had been more than 400 airstrikes and 1,500 artillery attacks by the Sit-Tat during a 49-day period since the ceasefire breakdown, resulting in the destruction of nearly 200 homes and other structures. During this time, 49 civilians had been killed and 60 injured. Of combatant casualties, there are no reliable estimates or figures.
Villages and Wards Displaced in the Hsihseng battle
1 | Aung Tha Byay ward | 28 | Nan Sa Myeh (Tabet VT) |
2 | Mya Kan Thar ward | 29 | Nam AW (Pin Son VT) |
3 | Aung Chan Thar ward | 30 | Wah Char village (Pin Son VT) |
4 | Hoe Keh ward | 31 | Hpyee Kyut village (Taung Shay VT) |
5 | Mingalar ward | 32 | Haw Taung village (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
6 | Thiri ward | 33 | Haw Myaut village (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
7 | Kaung Mu Bwa village (Pin Son VT**) | 34 | Ta Kaw Kun (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
8 | Hti Man village (Pin Son VT) | 35 | Wah Taw (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
9 | Kaung Taung Yo (Nawng Kyaw VT) | 36 | Lone Poe village (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
10 | Hti Want Tun (Nawng Kyaw VT) | 37 | Naung Eh (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
11 | Hpar Loi village (Nawng Kyaw VT) | 38 | Naung Kalout (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
12 | Lwe Tha Phyee (Nawng Kyaw VT) | 39 | Mae Baung (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
13 | Ling Nar village (Nawng Kyaw VT) | 40 | Hti Phu village (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
14 | Laing Pay village (Pin Son VT) | 41 | Outkalat Village (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
15 | Hpee Wan Kar village (Pin Son VT) | 42 | Won Ya (Kaung) village (Tabet VT) |
16 | Yay Phyu village (Nawng Kyaw VT) | 43 | Pan Line village (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
17 | Pone Laung village (Nawng Kyaw VT) | 44 | Kaung Won Gyi (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
18 | Paya Phyu village (Nawng Kyaw VT) | 45 | Kaung Won Nge (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
19 | Lwe Tweh village (Taung Shay VT) | 46 | Naung Kyaw (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
20 | Mee Keh village (Lwe Pyut VT) | 47 | Naung Hsai (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
21 | Hti Ri village (Lwe Pyut VT) | 48 | Pin Ngo village (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
22 | Naung Hein village (Taung Shay VT) | 49 | Tat Tan (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
23 | Sai Kaung village (Palawkaleh VT) | 50 | Naung Ta Bat (Nawng Kyaw VT) |
24 | Pin Son village north (Palawkaleh VT) | 51 | Kaung Mu Bwa (Pin Son VT) |
25 | Pin Son village south (Pin Son VT) | 52 | Hti Ta Maung (Pin Son VT) |
26 | Pan Kan village (Tabet VT) | 53 | Lwe Pyut village |
27 | Pan Kyat (Nawng Kyaw VT) | 54 | IDP populations from Kayah State |
**Village Tract