Former copper mine worker killed in junta raid near Chinese-backed project

A Myanmar military unit based at the Chinese-invested Myanmar Yang Tse copper project in Sagaing Region carried out a raid on a nearby village on January 11, killing one civilian, local sources said. After resistance forces attacked the Myanmar Yang Tse copper project on Sunday morning, about 50 junta troops stationed at the facility raided nearby Wartan village at around 3pm, opening fire during the operation and killing 45-year-old Than Zaw, a former Yang Tse security employee who had joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). "Other people escaped,” a local man with knowledge of the incident told Myanmar Now. “He couldn't escape and got trapped inside the village. When they fired heavy artillery and it hit the house, he died instantly. His head and stomach were hit by heavy weapons and he died.” The body of Than Zaw, a resident of Wartan village, is prepared for burial after he was shot and killed by junta forces during military raids on January 11. (Photo: Supplied) In the early months after the 2021 coup, many workers at the Letpadaung and Myanmar Yang Tse copper projects joined the Civil Disobedience Movement, including Than Zaw, who later returned to work briefly because of financial hardship before leaving again and rejoining the CDM. "In the earlier period he participated in the CDM, but due to livelihood difficulties, he went back to work,” the same source said. “After going back to work, he left again. For various reasons; his health, household livelihood, so he left and just stayed home. You could say he was with the CDM.” Although the junta column that raided Wartan village withdrew later that evening, residents remained in hiding, fearing further military abuses. The village, which sits directly opposite the Myanmar Yang Tse copper project, has previously been targeted, with six homes burned during junta raids in May 2022.Despite resistance forces calling for operations at the project to halt during the coup because of the military’s financial interests, the company has continued operating near full capacity since early 2025, offering financial incentives to recruit workers, local residents said. After the factory resumed operations, resistance forces fired heavy weapons at the project compound where junta troops are stationed, resulting in explosions inside the compound and damage to some buildings. Homes in Wartan village, located near the Myanmar Yang Tse copper project in Salingyi Township, lie in ruins after being burned by junta troops during raids in May 2022. (Photo: Supplied) One Chinese-backed copper project, Letpadaung (Wanbao), was temporarily shut for three months from early December due to fuel shortages, while the Myanmar Yang Tse project has continued operating.Salingyi Township, near Monywa and home to the mines, is included in the junta’s Phase 3 elections, where the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party is running unopposed.According to Publish What You Pay, a global coalition of hundreds of civil society organisations advocating for transparency and accountability in the oil, gas, and mining sectors, the junta earned hundreds of millions of dollars from the Chinese-linked projects in 2021. This included $417 million from Letpadaung and $187 million from the Sabe Taung and Kyesintaung mines, which are jointly owned by military conglomerate Myanma Economic Holdings and Chinese state-owned arms firm NORINCO. China has said it will continue to protect its investments and personnel across Myanmar.

Former copper mine worker killed in junta raid near Chinese-backed project

Junta troops based at the Myanmar Yang Tse copper project raided a nearby village in Sagaing Region, killing a former employee linked to the Civil Disobedience Movement

Subscribe for full access

‘Will it be different this time, Grandson?’

Across a border and into a war: A Karenni leader’s final journey

When going home is impossible: Myanmar nationals find solace in Singapore’s Peninsula Plaza

The Russian general behind Moscow’s decades-long military courtship of Myanmar

Subscribe for full access

Related Articles

India court grants bail to US citizen accused of illegal entry

Two fishing boats destroyed as Myanmar military intensifies activity around Sittwe

Detained forced conscripts escape past drunk junta guards in Sagaing

Myanmar political prisoner Dein Daung dies after delayed medical treatment