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These two photos were taken in May 2025, in Ac--- village, Pata village tract, Ta Kreh Township, Hpa-an District. These photos show the challenging living conditions at two temporary shelters for displaced villagers in Ac--- village, including poor roofing made with old materials and a lack of water drainage around houses. [Photos: KHRG]
Fighting caused displacement in Ta Kreh (Paingkyon) Township
Between April and May 2025, five clashes occurred between the State Administration Council (SAC)[2] and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[3], under the Karen National Union (KNU)[4], at SAC army camps in Ta Kreh (Paingkyon) Township, Hpa-an District, near the Thai-Burma border. Key incidents included:
As the KNLA seized these camps, villagers from villages near the army camps fled across the Thaung Yin (Moei) river into Thailand for temporary safety.
Increasing number of displaced villagers:
In mid-April 2025, fighting intensified between the KNLA forces (supported by the People's Defence Force [PDF][6]) and the State Administration Council [SAC] in the area between Dooplaya District and Hpa-an District, particularly near Kaw T’Ree and Kruh Tuh towns. As a result, some villagers from nearby areas, [such as] T’Hka Kloh village tract, Noh T’Kaw Township, and Kaw Wa Laing village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, fled to safer townships like T'Nay Hsah (Nabu), Ta Kreh (Paingkyon), and Doo Yaw (Don Yin), of Hpa-an District.
By June 2025, there were around 315 new households displaced in Ta Kreh Township, pushing the total number of internally displaced villagers in the township to nearly 5,000. These displaced civilians faced severe challenges, including housing shortages, financial struggles to build temporary shelters, inadequate food and clean water, constant fear due to hearing daily air strikes and mortar fire, and disrupted [access to] education for children.
Scarcity of drinking water:
Every April, local villagers and those internally displaced face severe drinking water shortages due to rising temperatures. As the temperatures have increased year by year, the water in wells, ponds, and streams has dried up, reducing access to clean water for local people.
Some of the local people rely on mountain water sources, but the water becomes polluted by early rains in May. As a result, villagers are forced to store and use rainwater for cooking and drinking. The underground water has also increased and polluted the water in wells and ponds, which changes colour and becomes difficult to drink [polluted and dirty].
Healthcare situation and the difficulties in Ta Kreh Township:
There is a shortage of clinics, medicine, doctors, nurses, and health workers in Ta Kreh Township, Hpa-an District. Despite this, health organisations like the KDHW [Karen Department of Health and Welfare][7] and Backpack [Backpacker Health Work Team (BPHWT)[8]] continue to provide healthcare in villages and village tracts in Ta Kreh Township.
In May 2025, many civilians suffered from diarrhoea. [Those who fell ill were treated by KDHW and BPHWT, as needed.]
Education access and difficulties in Ta Kreh Township:
In June 2025, despite schools opening [for the start of the new school year], there was a shortage of school buildings, teachers, and notebooks, similar to previous years, due to the high number of students [coming from other areas] and the lack of access to school supplies.
Many students are internally displaced villagers, and some lack school-leaving certificates [records of study to transfer schools], leading to their rejection from Burma government schools [schools run by the SAC since the 2021 coup]. Some schools limit the number of students, so it becomes a challenge for some students to attend school. [Displaced villagers are able to access community schools in the township, supported by the Karen Education and Culture Department (KECD)[9].]
Ongoing fighting in the areas around Kaw T’Ree and Kruh Tuh towns [along the border of Hpa-an District and Dooplaya District], together with frequent sounds of air strikes and shelling, causes fear and anxiety among students, teachers, and civilians in villages in nearby areas such as Pa Ta village tract, Daw Lan village tract, and La K'Man village tract, located in Ta Kreh Township.
Travel restrictions in Hpa-an District:
As the conflict intensifies in Kaw T’Ree and Kruh Tuh towns, Dooplaya District, villagers increasingly rely on the main road connecting Myawaddy, T'Nay Hsah (Nabu) Township, Htee Loh (Hti Lon) Township, and Hpa-an Town, in Hpa-an District, for travel and transportation. There are many gates [checkpoints] set up by armed groups [the KNU/KNLA-Peace Council (KNU/KNLA-PC)[10] and the Border Guard Force (BGF)[11]] and the SAC along the main road to collect fees.
During April to June 2025, new temporary gates [checkpoints] were set up on the [smaller] roads between villages [by different armed groups], where fees are collected from drivers [depending on the number of travellers]. As a result, commodity prices remain high, and villagers face challenges in traveling. In early June 2025, the SAC repaired a bridge near Ad--- village, Kyet Yway village tract, Ta Kreh Township, which caused traffic disruptions and difficulties for transportation and passengers. [The bridge was damaged by flooding earlier in 2025.]
In locally-defined Karen State, many cars and motorcycles do not have [SAC-issued] licenses. Starting on June 1st 2025, the SAC launched a national project to impound unlicensed vehicles, including in Karen State and Hpa-an Town [Hpa-an Township]. As a result, some civilians’ cars and motorcycles have been seized, making it difficult for local people to travel to Hpa-an Town for shopping, visiting markets, or receiving medical treatment at hospitals and clinics. Only licensed vehicles are allowed to enter Hpa-an Town, so villagers have to gather and share rides in licensed cars. Local villagers reported that the armed groups [KNU/KNLA-PC and BGF] did not seize the cars.
In the past, unlicensed vehicles could travel freely, and if they were stopped, owners only had to pay fines. Now, once cars and motorcycles are seized, the owners cannot pay to get their vehicles back. In Ta Kreh Township, unlicensed vehicles have not yet been seized, but travel to Hpa-an and Lu Pleh [Hlaingbwe] towns has become difficult. As many unlicensed cars and motorcycles have been impounded [in Hpa-an Town], the price of licensed cars and motorcycles has increased.
Further background reading on the situation of displacement in Hpa’an District in Southeast Burma/Myanmar can be found in the following KHRG reports: