Eight killed in Myanmar junta raid on village near Shwebo in Sagaing Region

Warning: This news report includes disturbing details. Regime forces stationed in the Sagaing Region town of Shwebo killed eight people during a raid on a nearby village last week, according to local sources. On the morning of September 12, a column of around 80 troops from Infantry Battalion (IB) 42 began marching from Shwebo to Hta Naung Wun, a village located less than three miles northwest of the town, the sources said. When they reached the village, the soldiers opened fire, killing two villagers as they attempted to flee. One of the victims, 24-year-old Yi Yi Khin, was killed by an artillery shell, while the other, a man in his 60s named Maung Ngwe, was hit by gunfire, locals told Myanmar Now. According to resistances sources, the column also executed six hostages—four men and two women, all in their 30s—in the village over the next three days. “The IB 42 column took six hostages when it began its march. They had them walk in front to avoid landmines. We could see them from the start of the column’s movement,” said the information officer of a resistance group active in the area. The bodies of the hostages, who were severely tortured before being killed, were recovered after the column left the village on the morning of September 15. Their identities could not be confirmed at the time of reporting. Locals said the bodies were found in pairs in three locations near the village. They also noted that they were all wearing black t-shirts and sports pants. “I think their clothes were changed, because they were all dressed to look like PDF members,” a resident of Hta Naung Wun said, referring to the anti-regime People’s Defence Force. One of the female victims appeared to have been strangled to death, while the face of the other was badly disfigured, he added. “There was regurgitated food in the throat of the woman who was strangled. The other one’s face was swollen, and she had no teeth left,” he said. Two of the male victims had been kneeling when they were shot in the head, and the other two were covered with knife slashes and other signs of torture, including a missing eye, he added. The soldiers also detained around 80 residents of Hta Naung Wun and confiscated their phones during their three-day occupation of the village. When they left, they took a 40-year-old man with them as a hostage, residents said, adding that there has been no contact with him since then. The column reportedly attempted to continue moving west after leaving Hta Naung Wun, but were forced to return to Shwebo on Monday after being ambushed by resistance forces. Most villagers living in the area have yet to return to their homes due to fears of landmines planted by the junta troops, locals said. Shwebo Township is located west of the Ayeyarwady River, opposite Singu Township in Mandalay Region, which was captured by PDF groups in June. Since then, the military has stepped up its efforts to secure the area between the Mu and Ayeyarwady rivers, including Shwebo, Depayin, Ayadaw, Wetlet, Khin-U, and Ye-U townships, where resistance forces have a strong presence.

Eight killed in Myanmar junta raid on village near Shwebo in Sagaing Region

Six of the victims were hostages who had been brutally tortured before being killed, according to locals who saw their bodies

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