Civilians continued to come under attack across a wide swathe of Sagaing Region on Tuesday, as regime forces stepped up their efforts to eradicate groups opposed to Myanmar’s military junta.
In western Wetlet Township, some 60km northwest of Mandalay, a woman was killed by an artillery shell fired by junta troops as they entered the village of U Yin Thar, according to resistance sources.
The woman, identified as 30-year-old Mone, was disabled and thus unable to flee as the troops fired on the village ahead of their arrival, Kyin Ko, the leader of Battalion 1 of the Wetlet People’s Defence Force (PDF), told Myanmar Now.
While an alliance of resistance forces attempted to prevent the column of around 80 soldiers from attacking the village, they were constrained by the fact that the troops were holding six civilians from the neighbouring village of Ti Taw hostage, Kyin Ko said.
“They were using them as human shields, so we had to hold back on our attacks in order to avoid harming the civilians,” he said.
However, the two sides did clash for about two hours, he added. Two members of the Shwebo PDF were killed in the fighting, but no further details were provided.
wetlet_township_village.jpeg
A member of U Yin Thar’s village defence force said that the junta troops fired relentlessly during their assault on the village.
“They fired on the village with heavy artillery from one position, and with machine guns from another. The villagers had nowhere to run, and we didn’t get many chances to fight back,” he said.
The troops left early the next day, but not before torching eight houses and killing several farm animals, a resident said.
According to Kyin Ko, the fate of the six Ti Taw villagers was still unknown.
“There have been rumours that they were killed, but we haven’t found their bodies, so it’s possible they were taken somewhere else,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Kalay Township, some 200km northwest of Wetlet, a military column of around 200 soldiers fired five artillery shells at a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the village of Nat Myaung on Tuesday, seriously injuring seven people, including one child.
The camp, which is located inside a local monastery, houses around 1,000 people from the neighbouring villages of Nat Myaung and Nat Chaung, as well as several other villages in the area that have come under attack from regime forces.
A man who was at the camp when the incident occurred said that the sound of gunfire could be heard before the shelling began.
“People started coming out into the open after the shooting stopped, but then about 15 minutes later, the artillery shells landed,” he said.
The man said he also saw the child who was injured in the attack.
“He was covered in blood and was also spitting up blood,” he said, adding that he had injuries to his neck, arm and chest.
The child was taken to the town of Kalay, about 20km north of the village, for treatment, but it was not known at the time of reporting if he survived his injuries.
This was the second time that the Nat Myaung IDP camp had come under attack from junta troops. On March 6, several shells landed on the monastery where the camp is located, injuring 10 people, including three children.
The military column that carried out the attack on the camp in Nat Myaung later moved to Nat Chaung, about 3km away, where it was stationed at a local monastery and high school.
On Wednesday, allied resistance forces attacked the junta troops as they were setting fire to houses in the village.
“The battle is still ongoing. We lost one of our men this morning. The military’s forces are now burning down even more houses,” a member of the Kalay PDF told Myanmar Now at around 5pm on Wednesday.
Nat Chaung is a village of more than 1,000 households located on the Kale-Gangaw road. According to residents, it has lost around 250 houses to arson attacks carried out during four raids by regime forces.
Three military columns have been terrorising villages in southern Kalay Township since May 28, resulting in a number of serious battles in the area, according to residents and resistance forces.
The Kalay PDF claims that over 70% of the more than 100 villages in the township are under the control of anti-regime forces
While an alliance of resistance forces attempted to prevent the column of around 80 soldiers from attacking the village, they were constrained by the fact that the troops were holding six civilians from the neighbouring village of Ti Taw hostage, Kyin Ko said.
“They were using them as human shields, so we had to hold back on our attacks in order to avoid harming the civilians,” he said.
However, the two sides did clash for about two hours, he added. Two members of the Shwebo PDF were killed in the fighting, but no further details were provided.
wetlet_township_village.jpeg
A member of U Yin Thar’s village defence force said that the junta troops fired relentlessly during their assault on the village.
“They fired on the village with heavy artillery from one position, and with machine guns from another. The villagers had nowhere to run, and we didn’t get many chances to fight back,” he said.
The troops left early the next day, but not before torching eight houses and killing several farm animals, a resident said.
According to Kyin Ko, the fate of the six Ti Taw villagers was still unknown.
“There have been rumours that they were killed, but we haven’t found their bodies, so it’s possible they were taken somewhere else,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Kalay Township, some 200km northwest of Wetlet, a military column of around 200 soldiers fired five artillery shells at a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the village of Nat Myaung on Tuesday, seriously injuring seven people, including one child.
The camp, which is located inside a local monastery, houses around 1,000 people from the neighbouring villages of Nat Myaung and Nat Chaung, as well as several other villages in the area that have come under attack from regime forces.
A man who was at the camp when the incident occurred said that the sound of gunfire could be heard before the shelling began.
“People started coming out into the open after the shooting stopped, but then about 15 minutes later, the artillery shells landed,” he said.
The man said he also saw the child who was injured in the attack.
“He was covered in blood and was also spitting up blood,” he said, adding that he had injuries to his neck, arm and chest.
The child was taken to the town of Kalay, about 20km north of the village, for treatment, but it was not known at the time of reporting if he survived his injuries.
This was the second time that the Nat Myaung IDP camp had come under attack from junta troops. On March 6, several shells landed on the monastery where the camp is located, injuring 10 people, including three children.
The military column that carried out the attack on the camp in Nat Myaung later moved to Nat Chaung, about 3km away, where it was stationed at a local monastery and high school.
On Wednesday, allied resistance forces attacked the junta troops as they were setting fire to houses in the village.
“The battle is still ongoing. We lost one of our men this morning. The military’s forces are now burning down even more houses,” a member of the Kalay PDF told Myanmar Now at around 5pm on Wednesday.
Nat Chaung is a village of more than 1,000 households located on the Kale-Gangaw road. According to residents, it has lost around 250 houses to arson attacks carried out during four raids by regime forces.
Three military columns have been terrorising villages in southern Kalay Township since May 28, resulting in a number of serious battles in the area, according to residents and resistance forces.
The Kalay PDF claims that over 70% of the more than 100 villages in the township are under the control of anti-regime forces
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Ten people were injured in the attack, including a woman whose skulls was broken open, a witness said
One political detainee dead, another missing after assault by guards, police in Myanmar prison
Staff in Pathein Prison beat dozens of prisoners after inmates protest the alleged construction of gallows to execute a striking teacher sentenced to death
As tensions rose over the incident, prison guards reportedly attacked an inmate with a baton, prompting others who witnessed the assault to rush to his defence.
At least one prisoner, 33-year-old Wai Yan Phyo, was killed in the ensuing melee. In a statement, the regime claimed that he had been beaten to death by fellow inmates.
The statement also blamed the incident on the prisoners, accusing them of attacking prison guards.
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Mae Gyi, who is also known as Win Min Htet, has not been seen since he was separated from the other prisoners, raising fears about his safety.
“It would be some consolation to his family if the authorities confirmed whether he was dead or alive,” said Myanmar Now’s source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
On January 7, junta troops reportedly arrested Sandar Aye, the wife of political prisoner Win Htun Aung, who was among the eight inmates who joined the protest led by Mae Gyi.
The reason for her arrest remains unclear, but there were concerns that she was being targeted as retaliation for her husband’s alleged role in stoking unrest.
On Sunday, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) released a statement condemning the junta’s treatment of Pathein Prison inmates as a violation of the UN Convention Against Torture.
“This is even worse than what we have heard of from other prisons,” an AAPP official told Myanmar Now. “This is a grave criminal offence.”
The AAPP official also noted that the International Committee of the Red Cross has not been permitted to conduct prison inspections since the military seized power nearly two years ago, heightening the likelihood of serious abuses.
There have been a number of instances of prisoners being killed behind bars since the February 2021 coup. In March of last year, seven inmates of Kalay Prison in Sagaing Region were shot dead by prison authorities, allegedly for attempting to escape.
The use of excessive force by prison authorities has long been a problem in Myanmar. In May 2019, a riot inside Shwebo Prison in Sagaing resulted in the deaths of four prisoners.
According to AAPP—which keeps records on political prisoners arrested, sentenced, and released in Myanmar—at least 13,429 civilians throughout the country remain in detention for opposing the military regime as of January 11.
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The junta has also revoked the licences of 14 medics and threatened to shut down private clinics that employ CDM doctors