Four civilians died at an Indaw Township monastery in Sagaing Region after being trapped by fighting in mid-August.
Approximately 800 civilians, including Buddhist monks, elderly people and children, were trapped in the monastery since August 16. Junta soldiers prevented them from leaving before releasing half of them on Tuesday. Around 400 others remain at the monastery. The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the reports.
One anti-regime fighter from Indaw Township said: “I heard around half of the people have been released. They are terrified after being trapped there for many days amid daily artillery strikes. They saw their homes and shops being burned and many are in trauma.”
Two men in their 20s and 30s and two women, aged 24 and 28, died at the monastery, he said. Three died in junta artillery strikes. The 28-year-old woman died suddenly and her death was believed to be related to anxiety after being trapped in the monastery for weeks. All of them were buried in the monastery compound, he said.
Civilians say they fear being killed by junta airstrikes that target the town amid ongoing fighting.
The Indaw Sangha Nayaka Committee, the township-level government-appointed clerical body to oversee Buddhist monastic discipline, asked the junta to release the civilians on September 7 in a letter.
A Mandalay Sangha Union member said: “The letter might be authentic. The township Sangha Nayaka Committee also pleaded for the safety of residents when the fighting broke out.”
Civilians took shelter at the monastery, thinking the fighting would end in a few days. Junta soldiers withdrew to a World War II-era hospital north of the town after anti-regime groups overran regime positions on August 24. The hospital is adjacent to the monastery.
Some trapped civilians escaped but many stayed as junta soldiers fired at people who attempted to leave.
Junta troops are deployed in the monastery compound with several security posts nearby, said a member of Indaw Township People’s Defence Team. “They are using trapped civilians as human shields. It is difficult to attack,” the fighter said.
People’s Defense Forces, the Kachin Independence Army, All Burma Students’ Democratic Front and other groups are fighting in Indaw which borders Kachin State on the Mandalay-Myitkyina road.
Junta 77th Light Infantry Division troops and the allied Shan Nationalities Army (SNA) are based at a hill at the town’s entrance and the underground hospital.
Around 300 junta troops are deployed on the hill, according to anti-regime groups.
The groups have not yet attacked the two positions but there have been frequent skirmishes.
The regime has been airdropping weapons and supplies to its troops in Indaw town and the latest packages were delivered last Saturday, according to anti-regime groups.
Approximately 120 Indaw houses were destroyed by junta artillery from September 8-10.
The town had a population of 80,000 but most residents fled to Mogaung and Mohnyin in Kachin State after clashes broke out near Indaw.
Fighting continues in Tigyaing and Pinlebu towns in northern Sagaing where the regime is using repeated airstrikes.
