Five villagers killed in Myanmar’s Bago Region, sparking calls for investigation

Residents of a village in Bago Region’s Letpadan Township are demanding accountability after five civilians were shot dead last week in an attack they say was carried out by armed men who accused some of the victims of informing for the military. The killings occurred in the village of Yaenuk on June 10, when armed men arriving on motorcycles targeted several homes and shot residents at close range, according to local accounts gathered by Myanmar Now. The victims were identified as Aye Myint, 57; Tin Thein, 64; his wife Khin Oo, 52; Lwin Khaing, 55; and his wife Yi Yi Cho, 50. A local woman, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said that only two of the victims were accused of acting as military informants, while the other three were killed because they had witnessed the attack. “They killed two people claiming they were informants, and killed the remaining three because they were eyewitnesses,” she said. The victims’ bodies were cremated the following day. The woman said it remains unclear whether any of those killed had actually been providing information to Myanmar’s military. The incident has intensified concerns over accountability within Myanmar’s anti-junta resistance movement, which has expanded across much of the country since the military seized power in a 2021 coup. Some local residents and resistance members alleged that the killings were carried out by a People’s Defence Force (PDF) unit operating under the command of the National Unity Government (NUG). However, sources interviewed by Myanmar Now declined to identify the specific group allegedly involved, saying only that it was a battalion from Thayarwady District, which includes Letpadan Township. A member of an NUG-aligned resistance force condemned the killings, saying such actions undermine the goals of the movement. “I feel bad about it. The revolution doesn’t even look like a revolution anymore,” he said. “Even if they were informants, they shouldn’t have done it like that.” An officer from another NUG-affiliated unit operating near Letpadan said he had heard reports of the incident but could not confirm which group was responsible. Myanmar Now reached out to NUG spokesperson Nay Phone Latt for comment, but still had not received a response at the time of publication. The killings come amid escalating conflict in western Bago Region, where clashes between resistance forces and Myanmar’s military have intensified since late last year. Reports of suspected military informants being targeted have become increasingly common in Thayarwady District. The anonymous local woman said that while some people accused of informing for the military may have been guilty, extrajudicial killings could erode public support for the resistance. “Even if it was a revolutionary group that killed them, I don’t support killing people like this,” she said. “These are matters that need addressing by revolutionary leaders.” She warned that incidents like the Yaenuk killings could damage the image of the resistance movement and weaken public trust in the opposition forces that many civilians depend on for protection. So far, only one resistance group, the Shwe Tan Myae PDF, has publicly denied involvement in the killings. The violence unfolded against a backdrop of ongoing military offensives across western Bago Region. Fighting, airstrikes, artillery attacks and arson have displaced tens of thousands of civilians in recent months, particularly in Nattalin, Minhla, Zigon and Letpadan townships. Resistance forces and local residents report that numerous villages have been damaged or destroyed as the conflict continues to spread across the region.

Five villagers killed in Myanmar’s Bago Region, sparking calls for investigation

Some of the victims were accused of being informants for the military, raising concerns about such killings by resistance forces

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