More than 10,000 civilians have fled Depayin and Ye-U townships in Sagaing Region amid a fresh round of junta ground and air attacks, according to local reports on Tuesday.
Over 150 junta soldiers based in Ye-U raided the border with Depayin on Monday, displacing thousands of civilians from more than 10 villages, said the Depayin Refugee Support Group.
Among the villages shelled and occupied by troops on Monday was Let Yet Kone, which recently marked one year since regime helicopters and troops attacked its school, killing 13 civilians including seven children, in late September 2022.
Let Yet Kone was also torched by regime soldiers in December and January. The arson attacks incinerated around 230 of the 300 houses in the village.
A Let Yet Kone resident said troops entered the village on Monday night and then continued to the neighboring villages of Nyaung Hla and Mu Ka Twin on Tuesday.
“Everyone fled during the night to escape the junta raids. The troops left our village this morning. However, we don’t dare go back to the village yet,” he told the Irrawaddy on Tuesday.
On Tuesday afternoon, an Mi-35 helicopter gunship from Northwestern Regional Military Command attacked the vicinity of villages in eastern Depayin.
“The helicopter attacked around Let Yet Kone and Nyaung Hla villages. As the ground troops remain in place, we don’t know if there were casualties from the airstrike yet,” a representative of Depayin Refugee Support Group told The Irrawaddy.
The group said the fleeing villagers are in urgent need of food and called on other aid groups to help the displaced residents.
“We are also preparing to provide food for the villagers,” a representative of the group told The Irrawaddy.
Frequent raids by junta troops based in Ye-U town are forcing thousands of residents from Ye-U and Depayin to abandon their homes regularly. Villagers who stay live in constant fear of regular artillery strikes unleashed by junta troops based in Ye-U.
