Blog Elements – Page 250

The son of one of the two women was also detained in the Kayin State capital Hpa-an last week

Two women belonging to a political organization formed by veterans of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising were arrested in the Kayin (Karen) State capital Hpa-an last week and have not been heard from since, according to their colleagues.

Nu Nu Aung and Khet Khet, who are both members of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, were arrested on April 26 along with Khet Khet’s adult son, an official from the group told Myanmar Now.

Nu Nu Aung was in Hpa-An to receive medical treatment when all three were taken into custody, the official added.

Nu Nu Aung belongs to the group’s Farmers’ Welfare Department, while Khet Khet is a member of its Department of Women’s and Children’s Affairs.

Myanmar Now has been unable to obtain any information regarding the arrests from regime officials.

Founded by prominent former student leaders, the 88 Generation group has played a leading role in resisting the military’s return to power following last year’s coup.

One of its founding members, Min Ko Naing, is a member of the National Unity Consultative Council, a coalition of ethnic and pro-democracy forces formed to oppose the dictatorship and establish a federal union.

Currently in hiding, he has been wanted by the junta since February of last year, when the military ousted the country’s elected civilian government.

Mya Aye, another founding member, was sentenced to two years in prison in March, more than a year after being arrested at his home on the morning of the coup.

In January, fellow 88 Generation leader Ko Jimmy, whose real name is Kyaw Min Yu, was sentenced to death after being found guilty by a junta-controlled court of plotting acts of terrorism.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 10,000 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced over the past 14 months for opposing the takeover.

Myanmar Now News

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.

Irrawaddy News