Eleven bodies, some of which were charred, were found after Myanmar junta troops raided villages in Ye-U Township, Sagaing Region, according to witnesses.
The regime airlifted approximately 100 troops into Ye-U with four helicopters on July 8 and the bodies were found by July 14 after raids on at least five villages.
“Some were shot dead. A woman died in a fire in Mee Maung Gon. She was overweight and in poor health. She could not run when troops torched her house. We also found some charred bodies,” said a resident.
Three bodies were also each found in Lein Taw and Kan Pauk villages and two each in Sitha Myay and Ku Phyu villages. Only four bodies could be identified, according to residents.
Seventy-two houses were burned in Mee Maung Gon, 23 in Sitha Myay and 31 in Ku Phyu, they said.
Light Infantry Battalion 701 based in Hmawbi Township, Yangon, in Division 77 of the Southern Command, carried out the raids, according to resistance forces.
“They are releasing their anger towards people’s defense force [PDFs] by killing innocent civilians. They are raiding villages, torching houses and killing people. It is totally unacceptable. Villagers who still have homes have returned and the others are staying with relatives or in monasteries,” said a resident.
The villages are at the borders of Ye-U, Khin-U and Kantbalu townships where no clashes have occurred, said Ye-U PDF.
“They kill farmers and fleeing villagers. They kill those who can’t run. There was no fighting. They carry out airstrikes and raid villages,” said a member of Ye-U PDF.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, 2,092 people have been killed by the regime since the 2021 coup. Data for Myanmar estimates that 18,886 houses have been burned down in junta arson attacks.
