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Myanmar junta returns bodies of Rohingya conscripts to families

March 23, 2024/in News

Police claim they stepped on landmines, while escaping forced training. The bodies of seven conscripts forced to join Myanmar’s junta army were returned to their families, residents told Radio Free Asia on Friday. The recruits were members of the Rohingya community, which has been frequently persecuted by the military for its heritage and Islamic faith. […]

More Than 30 Civilians Killed by Myanmar Junta in Sagaing: Volunteers

March 23, 2024/in News

More than 30 civilians have been killed in fighting between Myanmar’s junta and resistance groups since February 20 in Kale Township, Sagaing Region, according to volunteers. Junta shelling caused most of the fatalities with others killed in drone strikes and shooting, a volunteer said. “The regime deliberately shelled civilian targets and residential areas. Some were […]

Myanmar junta returns bodies of Rohingya conscripts to families

March 23, 2024/in News

More Than 30 Civilians Killed by Myanmar Junta in Sagaing: Volunteers

March 23, 2024/in News

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Myanmar junta returns bodies of Rohingya conscripts to families

March 23, 2024/in News

Police claim they stepped on landmines, while escaping forced training.

The bodies of seven conscripts forced to join Myanmar’s junta army were returned to their families, residents told Radio Free Asia on Friday. The recruits were members of the Rohingya community, which has been frequently persecuted by the military for its heritage and Islamic faith.

A resident who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons said police told families of the dead they had died while trying to run away.

“Seven bodies were brought in a police truck,” he said. “When the family members asked the people who sent the bodies [how they died], they were told the men were running away during training and were killed by landmines.”

Five of the deceased are from Thea Chaung Let Tha Mar Kone village, one is from Thet Kay Pyin village and another is from Thea Chaung village, according to residents.

“The bodies have no limbs, but I don’t know whether they have bullet wounds or not,” he said.

Military training is being administered to the Rohingya recruits at the junta army’s Regional Command Headquarters based in Sittwe.

Other villages reported bodies of Rohingya members of the community have also been returned in a similar manner, but RFA has not been able to verify these claims. Rakhine state’s junta spokesperson Hla Thein did not respond to enquiries about how the men died.

Since Myanmar’s conscription laws were announced by Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing on Feb. 10, troops nationwide have attempted to press-gang large numbers into the dwindling military.

The People’s Military Service Law requires men and women aged 18 to 35 to serve in the junta’s armed forces for two years. Many young people have rejected the call to duty by hiding, fleeing the country and protesting.

In Bago region, mass arrests of young people have sparked fears they may be used to bolster the military. But further west in Rakhine state, the Rohingya victims of the 2017 genocide have faced harsher recruitment methods with the junta threatening to kill them if they refuse to serve.

Since February, village administrators have recruited Rohingya living in Rakhine state’s capital of Sittwe for junta-led military training. Administrators have forced between 20 and 30 people per village and many more from internally placed persons camps to join the training, residents said.

Threatened and beaten, the methods have drawn at least 1,000 Rohingya from Sittwe, Buthidaung, Kyaukpyu and Maungdaw townships in Rakhine state into the army, according to one activist requesting anonymity for safety reasons. One video published on March 10 showed Rohingya trainees under army command.

The junta-controlled Myanma Alinn Daily newspaper denied Muslims were being targeted for recruitment in Rakhine state in a Feb. 28 article.

An Arakan Army statement issued on Wednesday alleged junta troops intentionally sent Rohingya to areas with heavy fighting. The group claimed to have also found and published photos of Rohingya soldiers’ bodies in junta bases it later captured in Rathedaung earlier this week.

RFA News

More Than 30 Civilians Killed by Myanmar Junta in Sagaing: Volunteers

March 23, 2024/in News

More than 30 civilians have been killed in fighting between Myanmar’s junta and resistance groups since February 20 in Kale Township, Sagaing Region, according to volunteers.

Junta shelling caused most of the fatalities with others killed in drone strikes and shooting, a volunteer said.

“The regime deliberately shelled civilian targets and residential areas. Some were shot dead in Kale town,” he said.

Around 15 people were killed in junta shooting and shelling since resistance forces announced that they were stepping up their offensive in Kale on February 27.

Residents from Kale and neighboring Khaikam town in Chin State have since fled their homes.

Bomb shelters are vital for survival, said a volunteer helping displaced people.

“There is repeated regime shelling and airstrikes so people need bomb shelters and to prepare escape routes,” he said.

More than 50,000 Kale residents have been displaced and many urgently need food, medicine and clothes, according to volunteers.

A member of Voice of Kalay, an anti-regime group in Kale, said: “There has been heavy fighting across the township. We hear gunfire every night and more residents are being displaced.”

On March 16, resistance forces attacked Aung Myin Thar and Kyaung Taik villages in the north of the township where more than 140 junta soldiers and allied Pyu Saw Htee militia members were based. The regime used air support but both villages fell.

Around 20 junta troops and two resistance fighters were killed and two Pyu Saw Htee leaders were captured, according to resistance forces.

The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the reports.

Approximately 30 Pyu Saw Htee members and their relatives in Kyaung Taik were mistakenly killed by junta shelling and airstrikes on March 16, according to resistance forces.

A member of Kale Township People’s Defense Team told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that both villages had fallen.

The villages had been used as bases to shell and raid surrounding villages.

“Everyone who died in Kyaung Taik was Pyu Saw Htee. Some escaped to the military’s regional operations command,” said the Voice of Kalay member.

Junta troops deployed in Kale Technological University to the south of Kale are reportedly bombarding surrounding villages and torching houses.

A military analyst said: “The resistance offensive in Kale has become more systematic. The junta is losing territory and it may use Kale residents as human shields. People should leave when they can.”

Irrawaddy News

Spring Revolution

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Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Sep 8 to 14, 2024 Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in the Magway Region, Shan State, Kachin State, and Rakhine State from September 8th to 14th. Military Junta arrested the civilians as human shields from Mindon Township, Magway Region, and Salingyi Township, […]
Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 1 to 7, 2024)September 13, 2024 - 5:08 pm
Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Sep 1 to 7, 2024 Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in the Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Magway Region, and Shan State from September 1st to 7th. The Military Junta threatened that they would launch airstrikes on the townships which they lost. The […]
Human Rights Situation weekly update (Aug 22 to 31, 2024)September 7, 2024 - 4:09 pm
Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Aug 22 to 31, 2024 Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in the Sagaing Region, Magway Region, Bago Region, Mandalay Region, Tanintharyi Region, and Shan State from August 22nd to 31st. Head of Prison which works under Military Junta, tortured and blackmailed the […]

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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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