Junta troops torched more than 650 houses and arrested at least 33 villagers during seven days of raids in Sagaing Township, one of the strongholds of the resistance in Sagaing Region, according to local residents.
A woman, 60, died in a fire on Tuesday when junta troops destroyed at least 600 houses in an arson attack on Thar Zin Village, about two miles west of Sadaung Town, a local volunteer said.
“They destroyed an entire village because it was one of the strategic locations for resistance forces to carry out attacks on Sadaung Town,” he said.
Thar Zin Village had between 800 and 1,000 households before the arson attack.
About 40 residents of the village were detained at a monastery when junta forces raided it on Tuesday, local residents said.
“They arrested at least 40 villagers who were taking shelter at the monastery. They released the women detainees, but they took 25 male detainees with them,” a villager said.
On Wednesday, junta troops continued their raids with an attack on Aing Dan Ma Village, burning down at least 10 homes.
A resident of Ta Laing Kyun Village died in a land mine accident as he tried to sneak out his village on Tuesday night, a local source said.
Since June 9, junta forces have carried out raids on a dozen villages in the township, arresting civilians from Yae Twin Gaung, Moe Thauk and Inn Sa villages, local residents said.
“They split into two or three small groups when they carry out raids on villages. So, many villagers were captured and used as human shields,” one local resident explained.
The fate of the detainees is still unknown.
At least six residents of Yae Twin Gaung Village, including a seven-year-old girl, were wounded on June 9 by shelling and gunfire from junta troops.
Dozens of houses and community buildings, including a library, have been destroyed by junta arson attacks in seven other villages in the township since the end of May.
At least 3,000 homes in 45 villages have been destroyed in junta arson attacks in Sagaing Township since the 2021 military coup, local residents say.
