The junta’s Tactical Operations Command Headquarters 1 (TOCH-1), in Hpapun District, Karen State is holding 200 family members of military personnel, including women and children, as human shields, according to the Karen National Union (KNU).

A coalition led by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the KNU, launched an offensive against Hpapun TOCH-1 in March 2024. Since then, Colonel San Aung, the commander of TOCH-1, has been using his troops' families, including women and children, as human shields by confining them to the base, according to a KNLA frontline commander.

He said to KIC: "Since our attack began, Colonel San Aung has been preventing the troops' family members from leaving. Some of the women among them don’t even know whether their husbands, who are on the frontlines, are dead or alive. Even if their husbands have died, the junta officers would not inform them. We have also received video footage showing junta troops forcing children to carry weapons, and we’ve heard reports of people being shot while attempting to flee. Colonel San Aung is known for his brutality. We understand that his cruelty has led to his battalion commanders being eager to surrender to us.”

The KNU has been using loudspeakers and distributing pamphlets urging the junta to release the family members, but they have not responded to the requests, according to Lieutenant Colonel Saw Kler Doh, a spokesperson for KNU Brigade 5.

He said: “The base is primarily used for logistics. It is commonly referred to as Wainaw. The junta has confined all the troops' families, including children, inside [the base] with no access to the outside. The KNLA-led coalition has used drone-dropped pamphlets and loudspeakers to demand their release, as well as the withdrawal of the troops stationed there, calling for them to surrender. However, the junta troops have not complied.”

He added that the women amongst the detained family members are being armed and trained to use weapons by the junta soldiers.

Currently there are about 300 junta soldiers from Infantry Battalion (IB) 19 and Light Infantry Battalions (LIB) 642, 434, 340, and 341 stationed at the TOCH-1 base. The soldiers from IB 19 have only recently returned to the base from the frontlines.

Much of Hpapun District (referred to as Mutraw District by the KNU) is controlled by KNU Brigade 5. In some areas of the district travel routes and telephone lines have been cut and the junta is conducting air raids using both aircraft and drones, according to Lieutenant Colonel Saw Kler Doh.