Almost 700 junta informants have been killed or wounded since the Myanmar military’s February 1 coup, according to regime-controlled media.
Junta propaganda has accused the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw – founded by ousted National League for Democracy lawmakers – the parallel National Unity Government (NUG) and People’s Defense Forces (PDF) of being terrorists responsible for the assassination of 406 people accused of being informants, as well as the wounding of another 285.
But the international community has witnessed the brazen atrocities of the military regime, with prominent international human rights group the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) calling on the United Nations (UN) to declare the junta a “terrorist organization” for its attacks on civilians.
The regime-controlled Myanma Alinn newspaper said on Wednesday that, as well as junta informants being targeted, 116 police stations, 46 police outposts, 28 offices and 58 buildings were damaged in attacks by armed resistance groups across 105 townships between February 1 and September 27. 375 government offices in 183 townships were also burned down during the same period.
The newspaper said that 2,460 bomb attacks were reported in 372 townships, while 340 firefights occurred in 134 townships. Another 349 attacks targeted houses.
Armed resistance to the military regime began in late March, with civilian groups using homemade and traditional firearms to fight back against the junta’s lethal crackdowns and raids on peaceful anti-coup protesters, striking government staff and anyone opposing military rule.
Since then the administration offices of villages, wards and townships have been targeted by civilian resistance groups to prevent the regime from governing the country. Junta-appointed ward and village administrators and informants have also been targeted for collaborating with the regime.
At the same time, detained civilians have been tortured to death while in junta custody.
Opposition to the regime has further intensified since the NUG declared a nationwide defensive war against the junta on September 7. With the exception of Rakhine State, regions across the country have witnessed a growing number of attacks on junta forces by PDF’s.
The regime has responded by escalating its arrests and raids in the most restive areas, especially Magwe and Sagaing regions and Chin and Kayah states, killing civilians as young as five-years-old, looting and burning down villages and bombarding the residential areas of towns.
The SAC-M, which is made up of senior former UN experts with long experience of Myanmar, recently urged the UN Security Council to declare the military regime a “terrorist organization” for its atrocities against its own civilians.
As of Wednesday, 1,158 civilians have been slain by junta forces during their raids, crackdowns, arrests, interrogations and random shootings, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which is compiling deaths and arrests at the hands of the regime.
Another 8,770 people, including democratically-elected government leaders, have been detained or face arrest warrants.
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