Five civilians dead as Myanmar junta forces advance in Bago’s Okpho Township

Myanmar military forces advancing through Bago Region’s Okpho Township have burned hundreds of homes and killed at least five villagers in recent days, according to local residents, resistance groups, and aid workers operating in the area. The junta troops, from Okpho-based Light Infantry Battalion 6, began moving from Tein Myoke, a village near the foothills of the Bago Yoma mountain range, in two columns on May 18, sources said. The operation, involving hundreds of regime soldiers, has forced residents of dozens of villages east of the Yangon-Pyay highway to flee their homes, according to aid groups. On Monday, reports emerged that three villages—Chaung Gwa, Chaung Son Lay, and Kywe Te Kone—had been set on fire by the advancing columns. A local man told Myanmar Now that he saw the bodies of five civilian men in Chaung Gwa, following reports that at least seven residents had been abducted from the area. Last week, two men in their 50s, identified as Pho Zaw and Aye Gyi, were found dead in the village of Kaing Gyi after returning to check on their homes, believing military troops had left the area. Local sources said the men were shot by soldiers who had remained behind. Thousands of displaced residents from 25 villages are sheltering in temporary camps in the forests of the Bago Yoma mountain range, as well as in monasteries and the homes of relatives, according to aid workers. Humanitarian groups say food and medical supplies are running critically low as donor support declines. Resistance fighters sheltering in the forest have reportedly shared provisions intended for their own camps with displaced civilians. Myanmar’s military junta has not commented publicly on the allegations of arson attacks targeting civilians. The military has intensified operations in the Bago Yoma area since resistance groups launched a series of attacks along the Yangon-Pyay highway beginning in April last year. Resistance forces reported that at least 18 junta soldiers, including a military column commander, were killed during three days of clashes that began on May 20 in the villages of Htwet Toe and Kyee Pyet. The claim was made in a statement issued Tuesday by Company 4 of People’s Defence Force Battalion 3801 and could not be independently verified. The statement also said resistance fighters captured Min Min Tun, a police commando from Battalion 17 based in Naypyitaw, near Chaung Gwa on May 31 while he was delivering supplies to military personnel.

Five civilians dead as Myanmar junta forces advance in Bago’s Okpho Township

Thousands have fled the area in recent weeks as the regime carries out a massive operation near the foothills of the Bago Yoma mountain range

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