At least 15 civilians killed in clashes in Mongmit, Shan State

At least 15 civilians were been killed in Mongmit, northern Shan State after a battle broke out for control of the town nearly two weeks ago. Fighters of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), joined by members of the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front and People's Defence Forces, launched an attack on the morning of January 18 targeting junta bases in the town, which serves as the administrative seat of Shan State’s Mongmit District and had around 65,000 inhabitants before the clashes started. After nearly four days of fighting, resistance forces temporarily took control of Mongmit on the evening of January 21. Shortly afterwards, the military carried out an airstrike causing numerous casualties as well as destroying residential homes and one of the town’s main markets. Rescue workers have been searching for residents trapped in the town amid the ongoing battle since January 19. Within a week of the incident, 57 bodies were uncovered in the rubble from the fighting and airstrikes, with 15 confirmed to be civilians, according to a local volunteer. The volunteer said the other 42 bodies were slain junta soldiers. "In our wards, there were heavy casualties on both the south and north sides of town, among both civilians and soldiers. Four or five bodies—sometimes up to ten—had to be buried or cremated each day for about a week," added the volunteer, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons. Only five of the 15 deceased civilians, all killed by a cluster bomb in a house on the south side of town near the police station, have been identified by name. The identities of the remaining ten are unknown. The identified victims include Set May, who was in her 80s; retired high school teacher Bay Da, in her 70s; primary school teacher Lwin Lwin Aung, in her 50s; and two civilian men in their 60s named Thaung Htay and Tu. “They were sheltering in the kitchen of a house near the police station. The main building of the house they were in was not hit by a shell. But a heavy artillery shell hit the kitchen and killed them,” the volunteer worker told Myanmar Now. Rescuers cremated the bodies at a cemetery in Shwe Zar Li village, located on the north bank of a creek opposite Mongmit. A house on the south side of Mongmit where a cluster bomb killed five civilians during armed clashes (Photo: Supplied) A source who fled the fighting said that at least 40 bodies have been cremated, including both civilians and junta soldiers. However, the exact number remains unconfirmed due to difficulties in communicating with people still inside the town. The clashes in Mongmit have not only resulted in casualties and deaths, but displaced thousands of the town’s inhabitants. Around 3,800 residents have sought refuge in more than 20 nearby villages, with others fleeing to Mandalay Region. The need for humanitarian assistance has been growing for more than a week in the neighbouring villages according to volunteers, as food supplies ran low due to the influx of displaced persons. Civilians displaced from conflict areas are especially vulnerable to harm. One Mongmit resident said he was robbed while preparing to flee the town as the fighting started on January 18. A group of men wearing uniforms had come to his home in a group and taken his valuables—including inventory from his gold jewellery business—at gunpoint, the man said. Retreating anti-junta forces leave Mongmit in military’s hands Mongmit is situated on the Mandalay-Myitkyina Road and shares borders with Mandalay Region’s Thabeikkyin and Mogok townships. The area has become a stronghold for various ethnic armed organisations. Several army battalions are permanently stationed at a base at an old airport outside of town, near where the road from Mogok intersects with the road from Thabeikkyin. Currently, these units include Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 348 under the military’s Northern Command, and Infantry Battalions (IB) 223 and 276 operating under Military Operations Command (MOC) 21 based in Bhamo, Kachin State. On January 21, the KIA and their allies forced junta troops to retreat from the base towards Namaung Creek, located south of the town. The town was almost fully under the control of the KIA-led coalition at this stage, Mongmit locals said. Fighting continued through January 24 between the junta troops positioned on the south bank of the creek and the KIA-led forces on the north bank, the locals added, coming to a halt when the anti-junta coalition retreated on January 25. Four days later, KIA spokesperson Col. Naw Bu said it was not possible to give precise information on the situation in Mongmit due to communications difficulties. “On our side, the Myanmar SIM cards aren’t receiving a signal so we cannot communicate. On their side, the Chinese phones aren’t connected. So communication is completely cut off,” Col. Naw Bu said. Buildings in Mongmit damaged by fighting As junta troops re-entered and retook control of Mongmit on January 27, some residents allege that they torched civilian houses. Army troops returning to the town set fires in Let Khoke Tan ward, locals said. The troops reportedly torched a Kachin church and other structures on January 29 northeast of Shwe Zar Li, according to a local civilian man citing an eyewitness account from someone who had recently fled the area. The local man said junta forces had also detained at least five locals who had returned to the town because they could not hear gunfire and assumed the battle was over. They then forced the detainees to set fire to houses. "They told them to torch the houses in the captured territory. After making them burn two or three homes, they lent the detainees a motorbike and let them go," he said, citing a first-hand account from one of the detainees. “Even though the junta-controlled news outlets reported the army had recaptured Mongmit in a counter-offensive, residents said that there had been no exchange of fire since January 25,” he said. Regime-controlled newspapers also alleged that the KIA and allied forces were responsible for the destruction of houses and buildings and civilian deaths in the town and did not report the air and artillery strikes carried out by junta forces.

At least 15 civilians killed in clashes in Mongmit, Shan State

Within a week after fighting in Mongmit began, rescue volunteers found 57 bodies in the town’s ruins, 15 of which were confirmed to be civilians

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