Five displaced civilians were killed by Myanmar’s regime during raids on villages and refugee camps in Gangaw Township, Magwe Region, according to resistance groups.
Hundreds of troops from Gangaw and Kale Township in Sagaing Region, have been raiding villages and scouring forests near the Gangaw-Kale highway since late November.
The highway is controlled by civilian resistance groups that claim to have inflicted heavy losses on regime forces on the highway for months.
Regime forces have used detained villagers as human shields to deter ambushes and landmine attacks by the People’s Defense Forces (PDF).
The Irrawaddy could not independently verify any of the reports.
On Nov. 26, regime forces occupied Mouklin village in Gangaw after detaining five villagers who were tending cattle outside the village.
One of those seized, a 21-year-old cowhand, was killed by junta troops on Saturday, said the Gangaw PDF.
Around five more displaced villagers were detained on Saturday when junta troops raided displacement camps in the forests using four of those detained as human shields and guides. Later, the four farmers were reportedly released.
Four detained villagers – U Hla Saung, 53, U Tin Maung Win-49, Ko Naung Naung 32, and Ko Hmai Wai, 28, – were slain after being tortured by troops on Sunday, said Gangaw PDF.
Another detained villager, Ko Phoe Pyuu, 22, is believed to have been seized by troops, said Gangaw PDF.
“There are no words to describe their atrocities. They looted houses in the villages. When we resisted them with our firearms, they burned down the village. They seem to like torching villages. We will continue to fight,” a Gangaw PDF member told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.
On Nov. 21, a former soldier was shot dead and three village houses were burned down during a regime raid on Myintha village in northern Gangaw, said the People’s Administration in the township. Junta forces allegedly shot dead a resident of Larpoh village in the township on Nov. 23.
A villager, who was around 50, was killed when regime forces randomly shelled villages, said Gangaw PDF.
Hundreds of junta troops have raided villages in southern Kale Township since Nov. 27.
On Wednesday, the regime forces burned down eight houses in Lelchar village and destroyed three houses in Tintha village.
Troops burned down 15 houses in Yayshin village on Monday and 10 farm huts on a mountain on Tuesday, according to the Kale PDF.
Three detained villagers were reportedly burned alive by regime forces. The Irrawaddy could not confirm this.
Around 10,000 residents from 10 villages to the east of the Kale-Gangaw highway in Kale have fled their homes, according to the PDF.
The regime continues to arbitrarily kill civilians, use detained civilians as human shields, bombard residential areas, loot and burn houses and commit sexual violence, especially in Magwe and Sagaing regions and Chin, Shan and Kayah states.
By Tuesday, almost 1,300 people had been killed by regime forces, said the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights group which records deaths and arrests since the Feb. 1 coup.
Another 10,568 people, including elected government leaders, have been detained by the junta.
PDF attacks
More than 30 junta soldiers were reportedly killed in three days in PDF attacks against regime forces in Sagaing, Magwe and Mandalay regions and Mon State.
On Wednesday morning, a combined group from the Kyaikto Revolution Force (KRF) and Karen National Liberation Army, the armed wing of Karen National Union, used artillery against regime forces stationed at a village in Kyikto Township, Mon State.
The KRF claimed to have killed four junta soldiers and injured six others in the attack.
Kani PDF claimed to have killed or injured three junta soldiers in an ambush near Natgyi village in Kani Township, Sagaing Region, on Tuesday afternoon.
The resistance group said it did not seize any weapons because junta reinforcements arrived.
On Monday morning, a civilian resistance group used landmines to ambush junta troops in Tabayin Township, Sagaing Region. Seven junta troops were killed, according to the civilian National Unity Government’s defense ministry.
On Monday an estimated 400 junta soldiers aiming to raid villages in Pauk Township, Magwe Region, were ambushed with landmines by a resistance group at two locations.
Around 18 junta soldiers were reportedly killed and many others wounded, according to a shadow defense ministry statement.
On Monday, Myaing PDF said it mined a junta police convoy, which included 10 motorbikes, in Myaing Township, Magwe Region.
Four police officers, including a captain, were seriously injured and a vehicle was damaged, the group claimed.
On Tuesday evening, an unnamed group attacked the police station in Patheingyi Township, Mandalay Region, using bombs. The casualties are unknown.
Junta forces are facing attacks from PDFs and many ethnic armed groups across the country.
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