Regime forces assaulted and robbed staff at a private hospital in the Sagaing region town of Tamu during a raid on Monday, according to a spokesperson for a local civil security team.
Troops who carried out the early morning raid on the Grace Hospital severely beat two members of its security staff and forced doctors and nurses to hand over their phones, the spokesperson said on condition of anonymity.
“The two security guards were badly beaten up. [Soldiers] also threatened nurses and doctors at gunpoint and took all of their mobile phones,” he said.
Tamu, located on Myanmar’s border with India, was mostly quiet on Monday following a series of clashes and shootings over the weekend.
Soldiers started the day before dawn, going from ward to ward with bulldozers to tear down barricades erected by protesters, local sources said.
There were also reports of soldiers shooting into homes, and of locals firing on them with homemade guns, but resistance was limited due to the heavy military presence.
Members of Tamu’s civil security team, set up by local youths as a defense against attacks by regime forces, also claimed that there were snipers positioned around the town and that drones were being used for surveillance. Myanmar Now has not been able to verify this information.
Tamu has seen a series of violent incidents since the junta began cracking down on protest strongholds in Sagaing region in late March.
On April 1, a week after the first casualty in the town was reported, an anti-coup group killed five policemen during an attack on a police outpost. The leader of the group, a local policeman who had defected to the civil disobedience movement, was also killed.
On Saturday, locals ambushed a convoy of junta troops as they were entering the town to suppress protests. Using homemade hunting rifles, they killed at least three soldiers. Two civilians also died in the clash.
A day later, a sniper shot and killed a motorcyclist who was driving past a district police station.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, regime forces have killed more than 700 civilians since the military seized power on February 1.
Healthcare workers and hospitals have not been spared from violent attacks. On March 28, troops opened fire with rubber bullets at the Asia Royal Hospital in Yangon, injuring one staff member.
Other hospitals in Yangon, including the Shwe La Min Hospital in North Okkalapa, the Academy Hospital in Ahlone, and the Shwegondaing Specialist Centre in Bahan, have also reported violent incursions by regime troops.
The junta has also repeatedly targeted medics providing emergency aid to wounded protesters.
