Thinzar Nwe- Narinjara News, 27th March 2025

Junta forces are compelling residents of Oke Shit Pin Town in Padaung Township, Pyay District, Bago Region, to serve as porters, carrying weapons and supplies to combat areas in the Arakan Mountains, adjacent to Arakan State and Bago Region.

A male inhabitant of Oke Shit Pin told Narinjara News that residents are being forced to transport arms and provisions to military units moving forward to bolster the combat in Chin Kone and Nyaung Kyoe in the Arakan Mountains, linking Taungup in Arakan State to Bago Region.

"Recently, the junta employed private vehicles in Oke Shit Pin for coerced labor. Currently, they are employing individuals as porters rather than using vehicles. The junta troops came into the town, seized 10 individuals, and compelled them to carry supplies, such as ammunition and arms, in backpacks to the battle zones through the weapon factory (KaPaSa) and Nyaungchayhtauk," the local stated.

A male inhabitant of Arakan State, knowledgeable about the military conditions, informed Narinjara News that employing local residents as porters has two functions: transporting supplies and utilizing civilians as human shields to protect against possible ambushes by the Arakan Army (AA) and resisting forces.

"When supplies are transported by car, they are frequently intercepted. However, when people are utilized, the military understands that the revolutionary troops are less inclined to fire at civilians. If they do, it's the locals who bear the repercussions. That's how they take advantage of the circumstances," he stated.

Local inhabitants in Oke Shit Pin state that the porters are exchanged and freed upon finishing their duties.

The majority of local inhabitants from Oke Shit Pin have escaped the conflict to Pyay and Yangon, leaving behind just a handful of manual workers.

In late January, junta troops tallied the cars and residences that had vehicles in Oke Shit Pin Town. They subsequently started employing civilian vehicles in place of military ones for supplying military routes.

Clashes persist as the AA and resistance groups continue to assault the remaining junta encampments in the Arakan Mountains.

The battle is fierce, and reinforcements dispatched by the junta are also being intercepted.