Regime arson attacks last week displaced more than 20,000 residents from around 30 villages in Nyaung-U Township, home to the Bagan Unesco world heritage site, amid reports that junta boss Min Aung Hlaing is planning a visit.
Around 150 junta troops have been torching villages in the Mandalay Region township since July 8.
The villages are separated from Chauk Township in Magwe Region by a small river and are on the Bagan-Chauk road, around 16km from Bagan. The historic site is one of the few tourist destinations that remained accessible after the 2021 coup.
A Zee Sar Myin villager said: “We fled the military raids. Other villagers fed us while some of my neighbors hid in the forests.
“Some villagers have returned and are building new huts. Some are staying with relatives elsewhere. Building a house is not easy and many of us have lost everything,” he added.
Oak Soe from the anti-regime People’s Democratic Army told The Irrawaddy: “They torched all the villages they raided to instill fear. This is what they do.”
The junta troops reportedly returned to Light Infantry Battalion 415 in Nyaung-U on Monday.
Military defector Zin Yaw said: “Anti-regime operations have increased in Taung Tha and Nga Thayauk in Nyaung-U District. Min Aung Hlaing is set to visit Bagan and Yenanchaung soon and the regime is clearing the area. They normally clear an area a month in advance of a visit.”
Eleven resistance fighters were killed in clashes in Nga Thayauk Township in early July, according to the Bagan Ogre anti-regime group.
