Over 11,000 Houses Burned Down in Myanmar Junta Attacks Since Coup
Myanmar’s junta forces had burned down at least 11,417 civilian houses at 296 locations by the end of April with Sagaing Region suffering the heaviest damage, according to the independent research group Data for Myanmar.
There are 10 states and regions where houses have been burned down by regime forces with Sagaing, Magwe, Chin and Kayah suffering the heaviest damage.
Data for Myanmar said approximately 7,503 houses in Sagaing were torched by regime forces from February 1, 2021, to April 30, 2022, as well as 2,131 houses in Magwe Region, 1,147 in Chin State and about 407 in Kayah State and dozens of others in Mandalay, Tanintharyi, Bago, Kayah and Kachin.
Sagaing, Magwe, Chin and Kayah have the most active resistance groups against the junta and troops have increasingly carried out indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including air and artillery strikes, arbitrary killings, massacres, burning people alive, using civilians as human shields, and looting and burning houses.
The research group used reports from the media, rights groups and refugee organizations. However, Data for Myanmar did not include information that has yet to be verified so the actual number of houses burned may be higher than the reported figures.
During April about 2,512 houses were burned down in Sagaing Region, the heaviest damage since the 2021 coup. Within the region, Khin-U Township had the heaviest damage and about 529 houses were burned down.
On April 29, over 120 houses were torched in Inngutto village, Kantbalu Township in the region.
“Regime forces were attacked with mines near our village so they came and torched the village. We lost houses, livestock and our agricultural machines,” said a villager.
Several villages in Sagaing Region have continued to stage daily anti-regime protests, despite brutal crackdowns and raids.
