Myanmar Junta Cracks Down on Civil Society Groups in Nyaungshwe and Inle Lake

The Myanmar military junta has launched a targeted crackdown on civil society organizations (CSOs) operating in downtown Nyaungshwe and the Inle Lake region of southern Shan State, arresting aid workers and forcing several groups to suspend essential community services.

Local aid workers report that military columns have been raiding villages around Inle Lake, as security forces in Nyaungshwe Town have conducted sweeps of local businesses, including hotels, to detain CSO staff.

“Both Nyaungshwe and Inle are facing severe junta suppression targeting CSOs,” said a local organization worker, whose colleague remains in military custody. “Troops even entered a hotel in Nyaungshwe to make arrests.”

Junta authorities are using the restrictive Registration of Association Law—enacted in October 2022—as a legal pretext for the raids.

The law penalizes unregistered non-governmental organizations and prohibits activities deemed political.

Alongside targeted arrests, the military and its allied militia, the Pa-O National Organization (PNO), have intensified forced conscription, conducting midnight abductions and surprise inspections across Nyaungshwe Township.

In early August, junta forces and local administrators abducted two male hotel guests in Nyaungshwe around 1:00 a.m.

The heightened security checks and night raids have effectively enforced an unannounced curfew, leaving local streets deserted after dark.

Residents fear the shutdown of CSOs will devastate local humanitarian support.

"Whenever our communities face crisis, these organizations are our primary line of relief. When Inle Lake flooded, no armed groups came to help—only the CSOs stepped up," a local woman told the Shan Herald Agency for News.