Myanmar Junta’s ‘Tiger Ogres’ Continue Their Murderous Rampage in Sagaing Region
A junta military column that calls itself the “Tiger Ogres” is continuing its rampage in southeastern Sagaing Region, prompting local officials to warn residents of villages in three townships to flee.
The column, based in Ye-U town, comprises junta troops and members of a pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia. Last Friday, they killed a pregnant woman and three other civilians in three separate villages in Khin-U Township.
When they began raiding villages in nearby Ye-U township on Monday, thousands of people fled their homes, residents said, explaining that they had heard that the Tiger Ogres had murdered a pregnant woman in Khin-U Township last week.
On Friday, they killed two elderly residents of Myin Kya village and a 44-year-old resident of Kar Seit village. The pregnant woman was killed in Kyun Taw Gyi village. An elderly resident of the village was also shot in the leg and 10 homes were torched before the column left.
About 8,000 residents of Khin-U Township fled their homes after the raids, residents said.
The Tiger Ogres targeted Ye-U township on Monday by shelling villages with heavy artillery. About 3,000 residents from nine villages in the township fled their homes, according to the People’s Defense Comrades group in Ye-U Township.
On Tuesday, the Tiger Ogres moved to eastern Depayin Township where they looted Aung Tha village before stationing themselves in it.
“This military column killed four civilians in Khin-U Township last week, so I want to remind villagers to flee them,” a spokesperson for the People’s Defense Comrades said.
The Depayin Refugee Support Group also warned residents of Yoar Shae village to flee because the Tiger Ogres were headed towards it this morning.
Troops from the junta’s outpost in Ye-U Township habitually raid villages in neighboring Khin-U and Depayin Township. They have incinerated about 12,000 homes in the two townships since the Feb. 1, 2021 coup, local aid groups estimate.
