Two civilians have been killed and two others seriously injured by gunfire and land mines planted by junta troops near the border of Shwebo and Wetlet townships in Sagaing Region since September 4, members of resistance forces said.
A 19-year-old woman lost a leg after stepping on a land mine planted by junta troops after they raided Gway Kone Village in Shwebo Township on September 4. The raid was conducted by about 80 troops from Light Infantry Battalion 12, which is based in the township.
The next target was nearby Sa Khan Thar Village in Wetlet Township. It was raided the next day. Two men, one 19 and the other 40, were shot. The older man survived and is receiving medical treatment, said Captain Yan Gyi, a spokesperson of resistance group Shwebo District Battalion 23.
Junta troops planted landmines in the village before they left. A 19-year-old resident was killed after stepping on a land mine on September 8, but 13 land mines have been removed from the village, Captain Yan Gyi said.
“Landmines were planted on the main roads, and at the entrance of the monastery and school. They [regime soldiers] are cruel,” he told The Irrawaddy.
He warned residents returning to the village to be watchful for landmines even after the People’s Defense Forces cleared the area, and asked them to report any sign of a possible landmine.
Three other villages were torched by junta troops during the four-day rampage near the border of the two townships in southeastern Sagaing More than 100 of 350 homes in Sa Khan Village were incinerated, while another 40 houses in nearby Ywar Thit Kone Village and 11 more in Phoe Win Tat Village were torched.
In early September, nearly 800 regime troops from Mandalay and Shwebo Township attempted to create a corridor running north from Sagaing Township (which borders Mandalay State) through Wetlet and Shwebo townships. They incinerated entire villages and fired mortars indiscriminately at the resistance stronghold.
Thousands of residents have been displaced for a month by attacks by junta troops in Wetlet Township, the Wetlet People’s Strike Committee said. They need food and medicine urgently, the committee said.
