A People’s Defense Force (PDF) leader who tried to save a wounded child was killed by Myanmar junta forces along with the injured boy on Tuesday in Khin-U Township, Sagaing Region.
On Tuesday morning, 13-year-old Mg Khant Khant Nyein was wounded in his chest and arm when 80 regime soldiers opened fire on the residential areas of Magyi Oak Village in the west of Khin-U Township, according to local PDFs.
A Khin-U PDF representative told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that U Htay, 52, a leader of the village’s resistance group, was shot dead while he was driving the injured boy to the nearest safe place for medical treatment along with the boy’s mother and another villager.
“After encountering the regime sentries, the PDF leader was shot dead while the boy’s mother was beaten by the regime forces. The injured boy died later after being thrown into the irrigation canal,” the Khin-U PDF representative said.
The other villager in the vehicle managed to escape. Junta troops seized the vehicle, as well as cash and cell phones from the victims.
The boy’s father said on Wednesday on his Facebook: “My dear son, never come back to this inhumane country if you have other options.”
Around 5,000 residents from five nearby villages were forced to flee their homes because of the junta raid.
On Wednesday morning, the same military regime soldiers were ambushed with eight land mines by local PDFs while raiding another village.
Khin-U PDF said that at least 12 regime troops were killed in the ambush.
Junta soldiers also torched houses during a raid on Latpan Hla Village in Khin-U on Wednesday.
With regime forces under daily attack from resistance groups and ethnic armed organizations nationwide, junta soldiers are increasingly committing atrocities including burning people alive, arbitrary killings of civilians, using civilian detainees as human shields, air and artillery strikes on residential areas, looting and burning down houses and acts of sexual violence.
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