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Myanmar military destroys more than 100 homes in Mandalay on encroachment claims

February 28, 2023/in News

Residents of two blocks find themselves homeless overnight amid a junta eviction campaign. As soldiers and police looked on, bulldozers destroyed more than 100 houses on two streets in Myanmar’s second largest city, leaving residents – many of whom had been living there for decades – homeless overnight, sources in the country told Radio Free […]

Landmines injure several civilians, kill 15-year-old boy in Kanbalu

February 28, 2023/in News

Pro-regime Pyu Saw Htee militias and anti-junta local defence teams both operate in the area, and neither has admitted responsibility for setting the landmines Four separate landmine explosions killed one teenager and injured eight civilians, including children, in Sagaing Region’s Kanbalu Township on Saturday, according to local sources. A resident of Nyaung Zin village in […]

Myanmar military destroys more than 100 homes in Mandalay on encroachment claims

February 28, 2023/in News

Landmines injure several civilians, kill 15-year-old boy in Kanbalu

February 28, 2023/in News

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Myanmar military destroys more than 100 homes in Mandalay on encroachment claims

February 28, 2023/in News

Residents of two blocks find themselves homeless overnight amid a junta eviction campaign.

As soldiers and police looked on, bulldozers destroyed more than 100 houses on two streets in Myanmar’s second largest city, leaving residents – many of whom had been living there for decades – homeless overnight, sources in the country told Radio Free Asia.

The junta demolished the homes on Monday on Mandalay’s Ma Kha Yar street and on 49th street the following day, claiming that the structures had “encroached on land owned by the state.”

According to rights organizations, the junta has forcibly evicted people living in informal settlements as part of a bid to increase its land holdings.

The United Nations estimated in December that the junta had evicted more than 50,000 people since the February 2021 coup, and burned or destroyed 38,000 homes, leading to the displacement of over 1.1 million people.

RFA’s sources estimate that the military has destroyed more than 5,000 homes under the pretext of “encroachment” since the coup, claiming the land belongs to the railway department, the irrigation department, or has been zoned for municipal infrastructure.

ENG_BUR_EVICTIONS_02282023.2.jpg — Myanmar junta authorities destroyed more than 100 houses in Mandalay’s Pyi Gyi Tagon township on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, leaving the residents homeless. Credit: Citizen journalist

Like the many who were evicted before them, the Mandalay residents were given no warning, and some were not even allowed to gather their belongings before their homes were torn down, a man who witnessed this week’s destruction told RFA.

“Houses are being destroyed and removed with encroachment accusations very frequently these days,” said the source who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity citing fear of reprisal. “The residents have lived there … for over a decade. Some big buildings built of bricks and concrete were also destroyed.”

While some of the people were essentially squatting in undocumented buildings, others purchased their homes legally. But the authorities made no distinction.

RFA attempted to contact Thein Htay, the junta’s economic minister for the Mandalay region, but calls went unanswered.

The junta’s spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told RFA previously that the military has had to deal with encroachment violations to adhere to the rule of law, because previous governments ignored the issue.

Homeless overnight

A woman who lives in the area said her cousin, a mother of five whose home was destroyed, is now scrambling to find somewhere to live.

“[She] has lived there for quite a long time and they destroyed her house, so she’s no longer a homeowner,” the woman said.

The eviction came out of the blue, so her cousin had no time to save up for a move, the woman said.

“Rent is a minimum of 80,000 kyats [U.S.$38] and that’s just enough for a very tiny house,” the woman said. “For a family with five children it would be difficult to live in something like that.”

The cousin is now roaming the neighborhood with all her possessions, looking for somewhere to live, she said.

“They are in big trouble under the burning heat of the sun,” she added.

The junta is now destroying homes on a daily basis in Mandalay, according to residents, prompting a run on rent prices as the displaced desperately search for shelter.

People who have lost their homes often choose to pull their children out of school because they are struggling to make ends meet.

“I have lost all my belongings and I am having a really hard time,” a man who had his home and water storage tanks bulldozed told RFA. “Where can I go and stay? Just look at my situation. As a Buddhist, I just pray that those who destroyed our homes will not meet the same fate.”

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Eugene Whong.

RFA News

Landmines injure several civilians, kill 15-year-old boy in Kanbalu

February 28, 2023/in News

Pro-regime Pyu Saw Htee militias and anti-junta local defence teams both operate in the area, and neither has admitted responsibility for setting the landmines

Four separate landmine explosions killed one teenager and injured eight civilians, including children, in Sagaing Region’s Kanbalu Township on Saturday, according to local sources.

A resident of Nyaung Zin village in the Htan Kone area, 16 miles south of Kanbalu town, said five people in their village and three in the nearby village of Thin Paung Kyin had been wounded by the landmines.

Toke Paw, age 10, was with his brother Phyo Wai Aung and Paing Paing Soe, both 15, when they triggered a landmine while picking plums in the woods near Thin Paung Kyin, the villager said.

“One of them died on the spot and one has only recently regained consciousness,” said the villager, who asked to remain anonymous.

The deceased victim was Phyo Wai Aung. Toke Paw remains in critical condition, while Paing Paing Soe is now reportedly stable.

On the same day, three other landmines detonated in the vicinity of Nyaung Zin.

A married couple selling goods on their motorcycle triggered a landmine at the village entrance, and two other Nyaung Zin residents were injured when they left their house to see what was happening, stepping on a second mine. Later that afternoon, another local set off a third device outside of the village.

There are pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia forces stationed in Nyaung Zin village, but at the time of reporting, it was not clear who was responsible for setting the landmines or what type of explosive was used.

An officer of Kanbalu Township’s anti-regime People’s Defence Team—which are known locally as Pa Ka Pha—claimed that the landmines were set up by junta forces and their allies.

“Those landmines must have been set up so that we couldn’t get close to the village,” the officer said.

The Nyaung Zin villager who spoke with Myanmar Now, who is closely connected to a local Pyu Saw Htee group, blamed the Pa Ka Pha and other resistance forces for the placement of the explosives, noting that they had previously attacked the Pyu Saw Htee forces stationed there.

“They attacked the village with heavy weapons on January 25. They’ve become more daring recently and are now even setting up landmines near the village. The explosions were very close by,” he said.

The Pa Ka Pha officer rejected the allegation.

“They’re always looking for ways to put the blame on us,” he said, referring to the Pyu Saw Htee. “Of course they can’t let the people know that they set up landmines around the village, because they don’t trust the villagers either. That’s why so many people triggered those mines.”

Both the Pyu Saw Htee and local resistance forces have been known to set explosive devices to hinder enemy forces from entering villages under their control.

Another leader within the Pa Ka Pha explained that because so many villages in the Htan Kone region were occupied by the pro-junta militias, it would have been difficult for the resistance forces to mine the area in question.

“[We] can’t even get close to the village, never mind set landmines,” he said. “The entire village is now just an open field with trenches. Once we set foot inside, it would turn into a killing field. They’ve cleared a 1,000-metre radius around it. You could see a mouse cross the field, not to mention a person.”

Local residents claim the Pyu Saw Htee forces have now occupied more than 40 villages in Kanbalu and Kyunhla townships both in Kanbalu District, a stronghold of armed revolutionary forces. The military council declared martial law in 14 townships in Sagaing Region in February of this year, but the townships of Kanbalu District were not among them.

Myanmar Now News

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ND Burma

ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.

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