Two people, including a one-year-old, were killed by junta troops during a Thursday night raid in Khin-U town, Sagaing Region.
Around 50 junta troops and police raided homes in Ma Kan Thar ward after an alleged tipoff that resistance fighters were sheltering in the area.
“One of the twin brothers and a 50-year-old man were shot dead during the raid,” a resident said.
Ma Thidar Oo, the boy’s mother, the other twin and another man were reportedly detained by junta troops.
Their whereabouts are unknown.
“Junta forces came to arrest the children’s father but he narrowly escaped when they raided his house,” a resident said.
Sources said three neighbors sustained minor injuries during the raid.
Pro-junta Telegram channels reported that raid and posted photos of seized weapons, including a sniper rifle, but did not mention the two civilian deaths.
The channels said the suspect was
a member of the township’s security team, which residents denied.
The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the reports.
People’s security teams or Pa La Pha act as a police service in resistance territory in collaboration with the civilian National Unity Government’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration.
Rural communities in Khin-U Township are also regularly targeted by junta raids and indiscriminate shelling.
Four people, including a 10-year-old boy, were injured by indiscriminate shelling on August 9.
Junta bombardment also killed five villagers, including a six-year-old boy, in July.
A woman was killed and nine people were injured by junta shelling during a raid on Te Su village in June.
Around 5,500 houses in 75 villages have reportedly been incinerated by the junta in the township.
Hundreds of villagers have been displaced in Khin-U and are taking shelter in monasteries and schools.