"On the walls of the police station, a sign asks helpfully, Can We Help You? in English. But just inside the gate, a white skull and crossbones on a red background warns of landmines planted inside. When Al Jazeera visited Hpapun several weeks ago, not a single soul remained in the town, and all the businesses and homes had been either burned, bombed or reclaimed by the jungle."
"Tin Oo, commander of the People's Defence Force, a rebel group trying to push the government out of the area [Tony Cheng/ Al Jazeera] The military junta's upcoming election is a sham. It's a staged, fake election designed to maintain the power they have stolen, says Tin Oo, commander of the People's Defence Force, one of the groups of fighters currently trying to clear government forces out of the area."
Hpapun was once a regional hub with banks, government offices, stores and an airport, but it is now a ghost town after homes and businesses were burned, bombed or reclaimed by the jungle. A police-station sign stands beside landmine warnings, and no civilians remain in the town. Some voting is slated for a Tactical Command post about 10km away, but access is blocked by landmines, booby traps and roughly 800 government soldiers who have been under siege since 2024. Rebel commanders call the military junta election a sham, and millions of displaced voters cannot participate.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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