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Junta soldiers burn hundreds of homes and murder civilians during rampages in upper Myanmar

February 28, 2022/in News

One of those killed was found with severe injuries on his body, suggesting he had been tortured, a local resident said Junta soldiers killed civilians, burned hundreds of homes, and destroyed food stocks during attacks on villages in Sagaing Region last week, locals said. Troops entered Kan Lay Kone village in Taze Township on February […]

Weekly Update Human Rights Satiation in Myanmar 21 February – 27 February 2022

February 28, 2022/in HR Situation

Junta soldiers burn hundreds of homes and murder civilians during rampages in upper Myanmar

February 28, 2022/in News

Weekly Update Human Rights Satiation in Myanmar 21 February – 27 February 2022

February 28, 2022/in HR Situation

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Junta soldiers burn hundreds of homes and murder civilians during rampages in upper Myanmar

February 28, 2022/in News

One of those killed was found with severe injuries on his body, suggesting he had been tortured, a local resident said

Junta soldiers killed civilians, burned hundreds of homes, and destroyed food stocks during attacks on villages in Sagaing Region last week, locals said.

Troops entered Kan Lay Kone village in Taze Township on February 21 and abducted 43-year-old Soe Moe, who they then took to another village five miles away called Thapyay Inn, according to the locals.

He was found dead on Thursday with his hands tied behind his back near a stream in Thapyay Inn. “We think he was tortured for three whole days,” said one local man. “There were a great number of injuries on the body.”

It was unclear why he was targeted, the man added. “He was on his way to check on his relatives when he ran into the junta column,” he said.

Elsewhere in Taze, Nay Win Htun, 40, was shot dead in his village of southern Chaung Sone on Friday. Locals said the soldiers threw the man’s body into his house, which they then set fire to.

Another junta column entered Taze from Kanbalu Township and raided the villages of Kan Phyu, Wat Toe and Thar Khaung Gyi on February 24, according to Taze locals.

“They’ve been terrorising those villages for three days,” said one resident. “They also torched houses that were not destroyed by artillery shells. And they killed and ate the cows in the village. They’re just doing whatever they want.”

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The body of Soe Moe who was abducted by junta soldiers in Kan Lay Kone village was found at a roadside on February 24 (Supplied)

In Shwebo Township on Friday, 50 soldiers and Pyu Saw Htee militiamen burned around 400 homes in the village of Hna Ma Sar Yit. Locals later found the bodies of three residents and said three others, who were all elderly, had gone missing.

“They started firing shots at around 6am,” said one local man, adding that the attackers used both heavy and light weapons.

Yin San Aye, 33, and U Thein, 55, were later found dead with bullet wounds, while 77-year-old Khin Than died in a fire in her home, he added.

Tons of rice were also destroyed in the fires. This is the fourth time the village of some 600 houses had been attacked by the junta’s forces.

“I don’t even have the words to describe what we’re feeling right now. I would understand if we were armed and posed a threat to them. We weren’t armed in any way. The villagers were fleeing but they just kept on firing. It’s just too cruel,” the local man said.

The Pyu Saw Htee members who joined the soldiers came from Thee Lone, Pan Yan and Myin See villages, he added.

A local woman told Myanmar Now her house was burned after she fled the village with her eldery parents.

“Once all of us had fled, they started torching the houses in the southern part of the village until they reached the middle. And then my house was torched. We could also hear them yelling that they would kill anyone they saw,” she said.

Residents say many in the village have taken part in anti-coup protests.

Local news reports said thousands have been displaced by military raids on the Shwebo villages of Ywar Soe, Pauk Chaing and Seikkhun.

Soldiers burned another 40 houses with shelling in Shwebo’s Ngarpi Oe village on Thursday and killed a 25-year-old man, villagers and a local resistance force leader there said.

The four victims were cremated in Seikkhun on July 18 (Supplied)

The men were on night watch duty in their village of Seikkhun when the troops arrived

The attack came as retaliation after a Pyu Saw Htee leader named Myint Than was killed along with another man named La Yaung. Junta forces in the nearby village of Gway Pin Kone opened at Ngarpi Oe using artillery.

“We didn’t have enough time to do anything at all,” said the resistance force leader. “The battle was totally unexpected. They started to fire artillery shells right after the Pyu Saw Htee leader got killed.”

“We don’t have enough equipment or weapons to fight back. They continuously used heavy artillery shells. It was really overkill, considering the civilians were unarmed,” he added.

The 25-year-old man was shot dead while fleeing the attack on his motorcycle at around 9pm, he added. The fires raged until Friday morning.

“They wouldn’t have needed to use this much force even if it had been an actual battle. There were only 20 seconds between each heavy artillery shell. We couldn’t do anything but retreat,” the resistance fighter added.

The village sits along the Shwebo-Kyaukmyaung road near the entrance to the UNESCO world heritage site of Hanlin, which contains archeological ruins from the Pyu era.

“The place where the shells fell is only 15,000 feet away from the Han Lin city gate. The shell essentially fell in preserved territory,” said a 60-year-old villager named Lin.

Another man, 40, said a two-storey house, a barn and 410 litres of rice grain were also destroyed by the shells, while six cows were killed.

Over 5,000 people have fled Ngarpi Oe and the nearby villages of Gyoegyar, Kan Gyi Taw, Ywar Thit Kone and Thea Kyun because of the attacks, according to locals.

Myanmar Now News

Weekly Update Human Rights Satiation in Myanmar 21 February – 27 February 2022

February 28, 2022/in HR Situation

Clear evidence of the power of the Spring Revolution can be seen in the momentum of ongoing protest and campaigning efforts. Another nationwide protest named the ‘Six Twos Revolution’ was organized to mark the anniversary of the 2021 ‘Five-Twos Revolution,’ held last year as part of a nationwide general strike. Protesters proudly held posters and signage reiterating calls for an end to the Myanmar junta’s crimes against humanity. Three finger salutes were seen as another act of defiance while individuals donned flowers in their hair and the traditional thanaka on their faces. The banging of pots and pans to draw out evil spirits, a popular non-violent form of protest adopted over the last year, was also encouraged. Political prisoners detained in various jails across Myanmar also found ways to participate by observing five minutes of silence. People also distributed anti-junta fliers and hung banners.

The peaceful demonstration was one where all involved demonstrated their rights to protest. And yet – the military junta unjustly violently cracked down. Peaceful protesters were arrested, including dozens in Tanintharyi and Sagaing regions.

Security forces, wearing riot gear, ruthlessly ambushed 34 young people celebrating a birthday party who they alleged were involved in the protest. ND-Burma member, the Human Rights Foundation of Monland, reported on the case and indicated that no arrest warrants were shown in conjunction with the arrests. They were detained at Laung Lone Township police station.

In Monya, Sagaing region, two women on a motorcycle handing out anti-junta materials were rammed by a car causing them both to fall. One of them was two months pregnant and miscarried as a result.

These injustices against innocent civilians once again speak to the cruelty which the Myanmar junta has never hid behind. Accountability for these crimes and more is long overdue, as is the protection for internationally recognized rights and freedoms.

KAREN STATEThe Karen National Union (KNU) is strengthening its response to the Myanmar junta as bases of the terrorist regime increased from 28 to 32 with four additional battalions. In Brigade 5 areas, there are approximately 4000 Myanmar Army soldiers. In January 2022 alone, there were over 320 clashes between the Karen National Liberation army and joint forces of the junta and Border Guard Forces (BGF).

Artillery shells were fired in Nagar-Taung Hill, three kilometers from Three Pagodas Pass Township which injured at least three innocent civilians on 22 February 2022. A young woman, a resident of Makatta and two day laborers, Nai Thit and Saw Pha Doh were injured when the shells landed. The firing forced over 120 households to flee from their villages and take refuge in Brigade four of KNU territories.

The KNU has warned the junta and the BGF to retreat from Karen areas on multiple occasions to ensure their control is eliminated.

Meanwhile, approximately 20 internally displaced people sheltering in Lay Kay Kaw recently tested positive for COVID-19. Health officials say it is difficult to isolate patients due to crammed camp conditions. This is yet another unfair burden placed on innocent people by the junta.

KARENNI (KAYAH) STATE

Airstrikes were once again deployed by the Myanmar junta in Karenni (Kayah) State in the town of Moebye following intensified clashes between People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) and the regime. On 16 February, Myanmar Army forces entered several villages near Moebye and air and ground strikes followed on a daily basis. Karenni based PDFs have been reporting that they’ve killed more than two dozen junta soldiers during the clashes. Civilians caught in the crossfire of the shelling have said the impacts of the blasts ‘shake the walls’ of their homes. Thousands have fled for safety but have faced challenges as they try to escape including multiple checkpoints and extortion by the soldiers.

The onslaught of fighting has left the Karenni people fearful for their futures. Since the beginning of the year, IDP camps have been struck by air attacks and forced thousands to flee. Traumatized survivors have lost loved ones and witnessed the harrowing impacts and brutality of civil war up close.

More airstrikes targeting local people by the Myanmar junta led to three civilians killed, and five injured one the evening of 23 February.

SAGAING REGION

Sagaing region remains one of the most hard-hit areas by the junta’s violence. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, the terrorist acts committed by the Myanmar junta are worsening in their scope, particularly in areas like Sagaing region where the resistance to the junta has been successful. The impacts of clashes are continuing to have devastating impacts on civilians.

Worsening hostilities prompted a man overwhelmed with grief at the loss of his wife, son and daughter killed during a raid on his village in Sagaing region, to run towards the soldiers responsible, calling on them to shoot him, to which they did. More and more harrowing accounts are emerging and are continuing to expose the relentlessness of the junta. No civilian is safe, no life spared.

In addition, over a dozen homes were scorched by the junta in Ai Taung West village, Kani township, forcing more villagers to flee. Burning homes has become a common tactic deployed by the regime. In Chaung-U village, the military also set fire to the majority of the 400 households. Alongside the raids, possessions of civilians have been stolen, including cash, valuables and livestock.

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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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