Blog Elements – Page 407

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Weekly Update on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar Post-Coup (August 16-22)2021

August 23, 2021/in HR Situation

Massacres in Kani Township, Yinmabin District, Sagaing Region

August 18, 2021/in ND-Burma Members' Reports, ND-Burma's Reports, Torture and Ill-treatment

Weekly Update on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar Post-Coup (August 16-22)2021

August 23, 2021/in HR Situation

Massacres in Kani Township, Yinmabin District, Sagaing Region

August 18, 2021/in ND-Burma Members' Reports, ND-Burma's Reports, Torture and Ill-treatment

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Weekly Update on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar Post-Coup (August 16-22)2021

August 23, 2021/in HR Situation

Over one thousand civilians have been killed by the Myanmar junta since their illegitimate seizure of power in a coup d’etat on 1 February. ND-Burma member, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners told the press: “As long as the military is in power, they will continue to kill youths, professionals like doctors and teachers, men, women and children.” Evidence of the junta’s crimes against humanity are mounting amid a pandemic which is claiming the lives of dozens every day. In an incident which put the ruthlessness of the regime on full display, drunk junta soldiers in Sagaing region indiscriminately fired at civilians, including shooting a young man at point-blank range in the head who died immediately.

Sagaing region has been targeted in a series of attacks by the Myanmar junta amid the steady rise in opposition forces seeking to undermine and dismantle the military. A joint briefer released by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, ND-Burma and Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica showed the extent of the junta’s brutal campaign against innocent civilians in late July in Kani township, Sagaing. The overview was inclusive of photographic evidence and produced in Burmese and English. The crimes documented are all in serious violation of international law. The findings, combined with those of many other civil society organizations before and after the coup, speak to the reality that despite claims which the Tatmadaw hinges their legitimacy on as the protector of the state – they are quite the contrary.

The junta is also doing everything they possibly can to target the democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD). Nearly 100 NLD members have been arrested, while others have died from COVID-19 and related diseases in detention. The targeting of the opposition by the junta is literally taking lives.

Myanmar junta soldiers in the midst of the chaos and disregard for human life, are also defecting. According to reporting from Myanmar Now, approximately 1500 recruits have defected since the coup, with one captain stating: “If anyone who wanted to, could desert right now, there would only be the commander-in-chief and the flagpole left in the barracks.” Defected soldiers have expressed similar sentiments in the past as they urge soldiers to stand on the right side of history and align themselves with the people and pro-democracy movements. An additional 40 soldiers abandoned their posts with weapons in Tanintharyi and Magwe regions.

CHIN STATE
In Chin State, the Myanmar junta indiscriminately shot and fired at civilians. A woman outside her village was killed in the attack. According to the Chin National Organization, on the same day, soldiers shot a pregnant woman in her thigh. An elderly woman was also shot, and several other civilians were arbitrarily arrested.

KAYAH STATE
The Karenni Army and Karenni Nationalities Defense Force are clashing regularly with the junta forces in Hpruso Township, and Pekon Township in southern Shan. Most of those displaced are women and children – including one month old babies and pregnant women.

In the latest update by the Karenni Civil Society Network, 82 people in Kayah and Pekon Township (Shan) have been killed since the coup, 150 arrested and 106 injured. With COVID-19 cases increasing, including in IDP camps, humanitarian aid is urgently needed. According to a tally from Radio Free Asia, over 170 000 people have been displaced by fighting in Kayah State alone in the last six months.

SHAN STATE
Conflict in Shan State continues to displace civilians. Several internally displaced persons were injured after stepping on a landmine in a tea plantation where rival Shan ethnic armed organizations have been fighting. COVID-19 lockdowns limited access to hospitals as routes were closed. Civilians have made multiple requests to armed groups in the areas to stop laying landmines in civilian areas.

The fighting between the Restoration Council of Shan State, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Shan State Progress Party has been largely fuelled over territory and claims that the various groups were targeting civilians in their respective areas. Hundreds of residents have been forced from their homes in a fearful retreat.

Download PDF

Massacres in Kani Township, Yinmabin District, Sagaing Region

August 18, 2021/in ND-Burma Members' Reports, ND-Burma's Reports, Torture and Ill-treatment

In over (70) years of civil war in Burma, ethnic nationalities have suffered torture, extrajudicial killings, massacres, rape, villages burned to the ground, and residents forced to flee their homes in indiscriminate junta military so-called ‘Military Clearance Policy’. Human rights and civil society organizations across Burma have repeatedly called for action to end this military’s impunity. The UN formed a fact-finding mission in 2018 to investigate the repeated human rights violations. And yet, the junta has continued to perpetrate human rights abuses, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

The military junta seized power and arbitrary arrested the country’s elected leaders on February 1, 2021. People across the regions and states have been resisting the junta in various ways. Kani Township, Yinmabin District, Sagaing Region is known as a prominent area of opposition to the coup. The juntas’ response has been to target and destroy areas in Kani Township, and surrounding villages and forests with shootings, arrests, and raids in military incursions. Thousands of residents have fled to nearby villages and forests. The junta has also entered these villages and killed buffaloes, cows, and looted property from the villages.

44^th and 99^th Light Infantry Division, including battalion 228^th based in Kale Township, have attacked almost every village in Kani Township, using some thousand troops in three different strategic divisions. Many locals have endured inhumane atrocities by the junta. Arbitrary arrest, torture, and sometimes being killed through torture. It has also been reported that internal displaced persons are suffering from food and medical shortages. The terrorist (junta) group has been collecting money through extortion, as well as assaulting, intimidating, and beating locals like with rifle stocks when they travel to Monywa Township to purchase necessities.

Ooredoo and Telenor tele-com operators’ internet and phone lines were suspended on July 9, and MPT was cut off on August 2 in some villages in Kani Township. According to locals, only the military owned Mytel internet and phone line are currently available in some villages. The junta has been uses its four cuts doctrine to indiscriminately target civilians. In July alone, the junta committed 4 massacres in Kani Township villages. At least 43 people have been discovered killed in this way.

First massacre (4 fatalities)

Four men were arrested, tortured, and shot in the head on July 1, between 4 – 6 pm in Shitkoetat Forest between Mone O Village and Ywar Thar Village, Kani Township, Yinmabin District, Sagaing Region. According to locals, the (4) corpses were found headless from shootings on July 3. Some (25) motorcycles were found burned in a nearby fire. The (4) men were each from Sein Kone Village, Phan Khar Kone Village, Sule Kone Village, and Inn Chaung Village.

Second massacre (16 fatalities)

The junta stormed Yin Village and Kone Thar Village, located on the eastern bank of Chindwin River. They entered the village, forcing residents to flee to Kyauk Hle Ka Village on July 9 and 10. Missing were twenty-six villagers. When locals went searching for them, (15) dead bodies were discovered in the valley on Khin Tan Shay Hill, east of Yin Village, Kani Township, Sagaing Region, and (1) dead body was found in another nearby village. According to locals from Yin Village, the dead bodies were found on July 11 and 12 on the hill east of Yin Village.

The (16) murdered persons were from Yin Village (13), Kone Thar Village (1), Paluzawa Village (1), and from Htauk Kyan Kone Village (1). Most of the victims were men, aged between (30) and (50), one of the victims was a male in his 60’s. All the corpses were found with signs of severe torture, some with cuts and bruises on faces and necks.

Third massacre (12 fatalities)

A clash between the military junta and People Defense Force (PDF) happened near Zee Pin Dwin Village, Kani Township, Sagaing Region, on the evening of July 26. Some villagers and PDF went missing. Five dead bodies were found in the first search, by the paddle field behind Zee Pin Dwin Village, and another seven dead bodies were found in a second search. Total of (12) corpses were discovered on July 27.

During the second search, the villagers dug a pit and found (4) victims, (1) hanging from a tree, and (2) lying on the ground. Of these (7) fatalities found in the second search, (2) were elderly over the age of 60, (1) was disabled, and (4) others were aged between 18 – 30.

The (12) fatalities from this third massacre were from Zee Pin Dwin Village (2), Chin Phone Village (1), Thamin Zat Village (1), Tha Lauk Village (1), and Monywa Township (7). According to locals all the victims were found with wounds and injuries from beatings and torture.

Fourth massacre (11 fatalities)

Junta troops raided a small village near Htoo Village, Taungpauk Village Tract, Kani Township. A local People Defense Force (PDF) from Kani Township resisted the attack and a clash unfolded on July 26 and 27. On the morning of July 28, the junta raided Ko Aung Kyaw Myint’s house, a farmer from Thayat Taw Village, who was working in Kyat Chaung Taw Tike. (11) men, including Ko Aung Kyaw Myint, were detained, and his house burned down by the terrorist group. According to one of the victims’ wives, she heard (10) gunshots around 10 am close by to Ko Myint Thein’s farm, a local in Thayat Taw Village.

On July 31, the villagers went on a search and found (11) men massacred in Ko Myint Thein’s farm, in Thayat Taw Village. (2) motorbikes had also been set on fire at the intersection of Kyauktaga and Kyat Creeks, Taungpauk Village Tract, Kani Township.

The (11) victims were all men and from Kho Dwin Village (1), Thayat Taw Village (6), Kani Township (3), and Nyaung Thu Village (1). The (3) from Kani Township were brothers working as farmers in coal manufacturing in their relatives’ village. Among the dead, (3) had bruises on their faces and all over their bodies, they had been shot in the head and chest, with burns on their faces from gasoline. All the bodies were rotting by the time they were found.

In the aftermath of the incident, U Maung Myint, a resident from Kho Dwin Village, Kintaung Village Tract, Kani Township, was mentally distressed by the massacre and drove his motorcycle to a high school in Kani Township where junta troops were based on the evening of August 1. U Maung Myint shouted “civilians died because of you”. He went close to the school’s wall unarmed, the junta then shot. According to his family, junta troops disappeared the body over the night.

Atrocities committed by this terrorist group are happening across Burma daily. The massacres in Kani Township are but incidents which have emerged with concrete evidence. These events testify that the junta is committing crimes against humanity. It is the junta which is responsible for these crimes threatening the lives and property of civilians all over Burma.

The massacres in Kani Township are an act of extermination under the international law. The (1949) Geneva Convention and its June 8, (1977) additional protocols established international humanitarian law norms such as protection of the civilian population, objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian, cultural objects and places of worship due to international or non-international armed conflicts.

According to article (32) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Geneva Convention related to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, taking any measure of such a character as to cause the physical suffering or extermination of protected persons in their hands is prohibited. This applies not only to murder, torture, corporal punishment, mutilation and medical or scientific experiments not necessitated by the medical treatment of a protected person, but also to any other measures of brutality whether applied by civilian or military agents.

The Kani Township massacres and targeting of civilians is a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions. The junta’s torture and murder of civilians in Kani Township must be condemned by the international community as crimes against humanity and litigated accordingly. Similar incidents to Kani Township occurred in Depayin Township and other townships. These incidents will consequently be examined by civil society organizations.

(2) persons over the age of 60, and (1) disabled person were killed in the second massacre. This junta has repeatedly committed torture towards the most vulnerable members of society, such as children and the disabled. Groups which the international community has made specific pledges to protect.

Article (15) of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by (182) countries, including Burma, states that “States Parties shall protect persons with disabilities from being subjected to torture”. The international community must adhere to its vital responsibility to ensure these groups are protected.

It is therefore necessary for the international community to act against this terrorist group and reject a murderous junta and illegitimate coup at the United Nations General Assembly. At the same time, the National Unity Government, with legitimacy granted by Burma’s people, must be recognized and given appropriate credentials by the international community as the legitimate government in Burma.

Upon ratifying the Rome Statue, the NUG must refer the junta to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and represent Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Contact:

[wpdm_package id=’5349′]

Spring Revolution

Civil Society Position Paper on ASEAN’s Goal of a Myanmar-Owned and -Led SolutionDecember 18, 2024 - 12:11 pm
Recommendations to ASEAN and Its Member States (1) Move beyond the 5PC to achieve a Myanmar people-led and people-centered solution to the crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN’s “Myanmar-owned and -led” approach must be backed by genuine political will that aligns with and supports the collective aspirations of the people of Myanmar. (2) Cease all pressure on […]
The Airstrikes after the journey to the China of the Junta Military LeaderDecember 10, 2024 - 1:28 pm
Operation 1027 was a coordinated military attack against the junta on October 27th, 2023. It was carried out by the Northern Brotherhood, which includes the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. Several months later, the Three Brotherhood Alliance held three meetings to negotiate with China on January 11 […]
Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 15 to 21, 2024)September 27, 2024 - 8:26 am
Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Sep 15 to 21, 2024 Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Shan State, Chin State, Rakhine State, and Kachin State from September 15th to 21st. The Military Junta committed arresting, occupying the properties, threatening by using power, and […]

Multimedia

GenocideSeptember 2, 2025 - 9:42 am
Crimes Against HumanityJune 16, 2025 - 7:55 am
International Humanitarian Law Cartoon AnimatonApril 29, 2025 - 8:37 am
အတိတ်မှ ဆိုးရွားသည့် အကြီးအကျယ် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများ ထပ်မံမဖြစ်ပွားစေရေးအ တွက် အာမခံခြင်း (Guarantees of non-recurrence)February 10, 2025 - 9:58 am

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.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

ND Burma

Recent Posts