The Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC) told DVB that regime forces have deliberately targeted Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, where farmers are harvesting their crops this season, with aerial and artillery attacks since September.
“The military instills fear among residents to drive them into regime-controlled areas,” Banyar Khun Aung, Secretary 2 of the IEC—a provisional government established by resistance forces in Karenni State in June 2023—told DVB.
He added that indiscriminate airstrikes and drone attacks have been carried out by regime forces on civilians living in IDP camps in recent weeks in Karenni’s western Demoso, eastern and western Hpruso, Shadaw, and eastern Loikaw townships, as well as neighboring southern Shan State’s Pekon Township.
Demoso, Hpruso and Shadaw are located 11-22 miles (17-35 km) south and east of the Karenni State capital Loikaw. Pekon is located 98 miles (157 km) south of the Shan State capital Taunggyi and 22 miles (35 km) northwest of Loikaw.
Karenni’s Mawchi, Mese and Shadaw towns were seized by the Karenni resistance after an offensive launched on Nov. 11, 2023.
Resistance forces have been contesting control of Karenni’s Hpasawng, Demoso, Hpruso, Bawlakhe and Loikaw towns, as well as Shan’s Moebye town, which were recaptured by regime forces between July 2025 and February 2026.
A Demoso resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that drone attacks have become more frequent this year, which is making the harvest season more difficult for farmers in the IDP camps.
At least 25 civilians have been killed and 101 others have been injured in aerial attacks in Karenni and southern Shan from July to September, according to a Karenni Human Rights Group (KnHRG) report on Oct. 9
It went on to accuse regime forces of targeting civilians living at IDP camps in Karenni while harvesting their crops to undermine local food supplies.
The U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) warned in a new report released earlier this month that Karenni and Arakan states are particularly affected by “widespread and severe” poverty due to insecurity and restricted access to the outside world.
Almost 18 million people, or 32.6 per cent of Myanmar’s population, are poor, while another 19.5 million are vulnerable to poverty since the 2021 military coup, according to the UNDP report.
