More than 7,000 civilians from around 20 villages in Yinmabin Township, Sagaing Region, reportedly fled their homes on Thursday amid Myanmar’s regime raids.
Around 100 junta troops deployed in Min Gan Tite village in southern Yinmabin for two days this week moved to Yar Pyin Su village on Thursday.
Around 3,500 civilians from a cluster of 12 villages called Ta Mar Pin Gwa and another 4,000 from other villages have fled, despite monsoon rains.
A representative of the Chindwin Toe Na Yar People’s Defence Force told The Irrawaddy that 12 villages are about a mile apart and all residents fled when they heard the soldiers arrive because they know the troops kill civilians.
“Some villagers are sick because of the heavy rain. We share our rations with the villagers as they fled with nothing,” the resistance fighter said.
The villagers are now hiding in farmland and forests, he added.
The junta troops took money from abandoned houses and then torched three houses in Pha Lan Gan village on Friday. They headed towards Pale Township, according to resistance forces.
They are systematically torching civilian houses, claiming they support the resistance, a Lae Ngauk villager told The Irrawaddy.
Lae Ngauk has suffered three junta arson raids. It used to have over 500 houses but at least 100 houses have now been torched.
Yinmabin is a resistance stronghold which borders Salingyi and Pale townships.
Regime troops raided numerous villages in Yinmabin and Salingyi in June and tens of thousands of civilians fled their homes.
Soldiers killed seven Salingyi civilians within 10 days last month.
