Regime, PMF Pillage Villages in Hsihseng
By Network Media Group
riday, May 31, 2026
Regime forces have reportedly been looting homes in Hsihseng Township, located in southern Shan State, an area that has been marred by conflict since the beginning of the year.
According to a local woman, after a military column comprising Burma army and Pa-O People’s Militia Force (PMF) personnel arrived in her village, they ransacked homes, confiscating valuables, including maize seeds, and looting items from shops, such as beer and other alcoholic beverages. She said they especially stole motorcycles, including all of the ones from Thailand.
From May 16-18, two military columns entered several villages including Htee Bua (also known as Yay Phyu), Kawng Weing, Nawng Kyaw, and Kan Taw Lay, where they looted them after the villagers had fled due to the conflict. Additionally, reports suggest that the Burma army and PMF’s wives were involved in looting from the Hsihseng market, which had been abandoned as a result of the ongoing violence. Locals suspect the soldiers will resell some of the stolen goods at other markets in the township.
A man from Nawng Kyaw village said soldiers killed and ate their chickens and even their dogs. “Sometimes they paid for pigs in the village, but villagers were forced to sell them for very little money, which is a kind of robbery,” he stated. He mentioned that a pig is worth about 500,000 kyat, but the soldiers only gave them 150,000.
Some regime supporters claimed that the Pa-O National Organization (PNO), the political wing of the PMF, wasn’t aware of the thefts; otherwise, it would have intervened to stop them.
Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLA) spokesperson Khun Rein Yan explained that U Ne Win Tun is the deputy chief commander of the PMF and a leading figure on the front line, so he must be aware with what his soldiers are doing, yet he didn’t try to stop them.
The PNLA has been engaged in conflict with the Burma army and PMF since the armed groups attacked them at the end of January, ending their ceasefire
“In practice, they know the situation very well. The Pa-O PMF is operating under the Military Council, and I think that its bad character has rubbed off on the PMF because they are working closely together,” Khun Rein Yan said.
