Villager Killed by Myanmar Junta Forces: Residents
By The Irrawaddy 24 May 2021
A villager was killed by junta troops during a village raid in Sagaing Region’s Kani Township on Sunday.
After a prolonged firefight with the civilian resistance fighters from the People Defense Force on the Kani-Mingin highway on Saturday, junta forces in nine vehicles attacked neighboring Myaunggone village.
Around 500 villagers fled their homes for the forest, a villager told The Irrawaddy on Monday.
Approximately 4,500 residents of another 11 villages have also fled their homes to avoid the regime’s forces.
Troops were still deployed at Myaunggone until Monday morning.
On Monday morning, the body of villager Ko Phoe Swe, 35, who had been shot in the head, was found by villagers who ventured back to their homes.
A villager said Ko Phoe Swe might have been shot on Sunday morning when he return to the village when three shots were heard.
Ko Phoe Swe was married with two children.
Junta troops looted food and generators and ate the villagers’ chickens after scouring houses, villagers said.
The homeless villagers said they now lack food and water.
“The soldiers killed innocent people. Despite saying the army is for the people, they are a hostile force. The army is attacking the people,” the villager said.
On Monday afternoon, junta troops also raided two villages while heading to Kin village in the west of Kani Township.
On Sunday, another shootout between junta troops and resistance fighters was reported on the Monywa-Kalaywa highway.
Shootouts began in Kani on April 2.
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