The pro-military Pa-O National Army (PNA) allegedly threatened residents of Hopong Township in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone of southern Shan State with eviction and that it would seal their homes shut if they fail to follow orders that state family members living abroad must return to serve in the PNA.
“They said that every Pa-O person must know their duty,” a Hopong resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity after a PNA meeting was held with residents in the Lweon village tract of Hopong Township on Feb. 21.
Hopong is located 13 miles (20 km) east of the Shan State capital Taunggyi. The Pa-O Self-Administered Zone comprises the three townships of Hopong, Hsihseng and Pinlaung. The latter two are located 59-67 miles (94-107 km) south of Taunggyi and 38-55 miles (61-88 km) north of the Karenni State capital Loikaw.
The Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLA), an ethnic armed group fighting alongside the Karenni resistance against pro-regime forces, told DVB that the PNA is forcibly recruiting Pa-O males.
The PNLA spokesperson Khun Rein Yan added that many Pa-O civilians have been killed fighting for the PNA.
“[PNA] uses Pa-O people for its own profit,” he told DVB. The PNLA is active in Hsihseng, Hopong and Mawkmai townships of southern Shan State. Mawkmai is 132 miles (212 km) southeast of Taunggyi and directly northeast of Loikaw.
The PNO signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 1991 with a previous military regime. It has fought alongside current regime forces against the resistance in southern Shan State since the 2021 military coup.
