Karenni Interim Executive Council warns of food insecurity in the coming months

The Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC), established in 2023 as a provisional government in Karenni State, told DVB that residents staying temporarily at Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps may soon face severe hunger.

Banyar Aung, the IEC secretary 2, told DVB that it has assessed the food security situation and it is urgently seeking more humanitarian assistance through local and international partners.

An aid worker at an IDP camp in Karenni’s Nanmekhon town told DVB that an unknown number of families are facing food shortages.

Daily staples such as rice and cooking oil have become inaccessible and overpriced in the local markets over the last three months. Nanmekhon is located nine miles (14 km) west of the Karenni State capital Loikaw.

The Karenni Human Rights Group (KnHRG) reported that two farmers from Nanmekhon were injured in an attack by regime forces outside the IDP camp on Jan. 4.

It added that another farmer was killed in Hpruso Township by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), or drone, attack carried out by regime forces on Nov. 26. Hpruso is located 22 miles (35 km) south of Loikaw.

The KnHRG stated that residents of the IDP camps could face hunger soon as regime forces “deliberately target” farmers and cut off access to agricultural land in Karenni State.

A Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) spokesperson told DVB on the condition of anonymity that it has taken security measures in Hpruso to allow farmers to access agricultural land by installing UAV jamming devices to stop regime drone attacks.

A total of 127 civilians were killed in Karenni State by regime attacks in 2025, according to the Progressive Karenni People Force (PKPF). Karenni State hosts nearly 250,000 people living in 450 temporary shelters at IDP camps, according to the IEC.

The military’s counteroffensive to recapture resistance-controlled territory in Karenni State ahead of the regime’s 2025-26 elections has threatened regional peace and security, according to KnHRG.

The KNDF shut down the 32 mile (51 km) long road connecting Hpruso and Bawlakhe townships on Nov. 6 until further notice to thwart the military counteroffensive.

Sources in Loikaw told DVB that an unknown armed group attacked polling stations in at least three locations with explosives while voting was underway in the first phase of the regime elections. No casualties were reported.

The regime’s Union Election Commission (UEC) was only able to hold polls in urban areas of Loikaw and Bawlakhe townships on Dec. 28. The second phase of voting will be held in Karenni’s Demoso and Hpruso townships on Jan. 11.