Before the military of Myanmar’s junta lost control Mrauk-U town – the ancient capital of Rakhine State – its troops killed people jailed for criticizing the regime and dumped their bodies in a bomb shelter.
A former journalist and a young, social media celebrity were among them. They were two of the seven men shot dead, dumped in the bomb shelter and then hidden under earth before the town was captured by the Arakan Army (AA), the AA said late Sunday.
The seven men had been transferred from the town’s jail to a cell inside a battalion compound, Rakhine media said.
They were shot dead on Jan. 31, about one week before the AA captured the town. Their bodies showed signs of torture, the AA said.
Myat Thu Tun, also known as Phoe Thiha, previously worked for Democratic Voice of Burma, 7 Days Journal and The Voice Journal.
Kyaw Zan Wai was a popular figure on social media. The young man was especially well-liked by ethnic Rakhine people and best known for his song “Exodus.” He also went by the name Yin Sot.
The five other people found buried in the bomb shelter were identified as Kyaw Thein Hlaing, Kyaw Win Hlaing, Ko Ko Nyunt, Ko Win Naing and Pyae Sone Win.
All seven were shot dead inside of the compound of the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 378, the AA said. Their bodies were retrieved after the AA captured Mrauk-U town last week.
Phoe Thiha was arrested at his home by junta soldiers and police on Sept. 20, 2022. He was charged with violating Section 505(a) of the Penal Code for allegedly writing and spreading false news on social media and incitement. Violations of Section 505(a) carry a punishment of up to three years in prison.
Phoe Thiha had stopped working as a national-level reporter before the military seized power in Feb. 2021.He also contributed Rakhine State-based news outlets.
Kyaw Zan Wai was arrested at his home in Mrauk-U on Sept. 4, 2022 and accused of working for the National Unity Government.
On Feb. 5, the AA captured the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 378 based in Mrauk-U, and seized its weapons and ammunition.
Rakhine media outlet Western News said the seven men had been transferred from Mrauk-U prison to the battalion’s compound before they were killed.
Soldiers from another junta battalion in the town – Light Infantry Battalion 379 – also killed unarmed prisoners before their battalion was defeated, the statement from the AA said. It said Nyi Nyi Aung, also known as Aung Zaw Win, from Rathedaung Township, and Kyaw Nyunt from Minbya Township were killed in their cells inside the battalion’s compound on Jan. 19.
When it suffers defeats on the battlefield, Myanmar’s army commits war crimes against unarmed civilians, the AA said.
It arrests civilians on a wide array of charges, uses them as human shields and then executes them, the AA said, adding that junta troops also destroy villages and buildings with arson attacks.
The junta is committing war crimes across Myanmar, not just in Rakhine State, the AA said.
Regime troops found to have committed war crimes will be punished accordingly so that justice can be delivered to the victims and their families, the AA said.
All of Mrauk-U Township is now free of junta troops, the AA said, after seizing No. 31 police battalion on Feb. 8.
The ethnic army began its offensive in Rakhine state on Nov. 13, two days after the launch of Operation 1111 in Karenni (Kayah) State.
Since then, it has seized five towns in Rakhine State – Pauktaw, Minbya, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-u and Taungpyo – and one in neighboring Chin State, Paletwa.
