Junta column torches eight villages as it advances through western Bago

More than 400 junta soldiers torched homes in at least eight villages in western Bago Region’s Minhla Township as they advanced through the area on Wednesday, local resistance groups said. Junta troops burned civilian homes in Kywe Ma Kaing and San Boke villages according to Moe Htet, an information officer for the Minhla Township People’s Defence Team. The two villages sit between the Bago Yoma foothills and the Yangon–Pyay road, east of Minhla town. "Junta troops began setting fire to Kywe Ma Kaing village around 12:10 pm, then they started burning homes in San Boke village around 7 pm the day before. However, since the initial blaze didn’t destroy everything, they returned and ignited fires again at around 9am on June 25," Moe Htet told Myanmar Now.Resistance groups in Minhla say the advancing junta column is made up primarily of troops from Brigade 66, based in Pyay Township, and includes drone specialists. Since June 20, the column has been moving through Minhla town and pushing toward the Bago Yoma mountain range along the Yangon–Pyay road.While advancing along their route, junta forces entered eight villages in the area, including Nga Hla San, Gant Gaw Pin, Taung Pyat Ywar Thit, Botataung, Khwet Ma, Uto Kywe Lan Su, Kywe Ma Kaing, and San Boke, where they reportedly looted civilian belongings and property.Troops also torched civilian homes, according to the Minhla Township PDF administrators and Thayarwady District PDF Battalion 3801. Charred remains of a home reportedly torched by junta troops in Uto Kywe Lan Su Village on June 22. (Photo: Minhla People’s Defense Force) Earlier on June 16, resistance fighters from Thayarwady District PDF Battalion 3803 assaulted a police outpost and the Sit Kwin Tar Sone checkpoint along the Yangon–Pyay Road, reportedly killing 20 junta troops, including several officers. Among the dead were three senior officials: Lt-Col Zaw Myo Win, an administrative officer for Thayarwady District; Police Lt-Col Soe Khaing, a general staff officer; and Lt-Col Yan Naing Aung, an administrative officer for Minhla Township, according to the Thayarwady District People’s Defense Forces (PDF). In response to the deaths of several senior officers, the junta deployed more than 400 troops to Minhla Township on June 20, targeting suspected PDF positions, according to resistance sources. A source associated with the revolutionary forces said the loss of four high-ranking officers appears to have shaken the military, prompting aggressive counter-attacks. That same day, junta forces clashed with Thayarwady District PDF Battalion 3 in Taung Pyat Ywar Thit village, east of the Yangon–Pyay Road. Acting commander Nyi Nyi of Thayarwady District Battalion 1 said the battle left one Bago PDF fighter and four resistance fighters from Battalion 3 dead.“There were soldiers assigned to guard duty that day, but I suspect they dozed off early in the morning,” Nyi Nyi said. “Due to severe sleep deprivation, their alertness was compromised, leaving them vulnerable when the attack occurred.” One soldier was shot in the head while firing back at junta troops in resistance. The other four were captured alive and later killed. Nyi Nyi described the loss of his comrades as a heavy and tragic blow.“Four comrades were cornered in the cellar under the house and taken prisoner. Altogether, five comrades lost their lives, and four weapons were seized by the enemy,” Nyi Nyi said. “The four captured soldiers were tortured and executed later that same afternoon.”Data from Minhla Township resistance forces indicates that more than 10,000 residents from 40 villages situated between the Bago Mountain Range foothills (Bago Yoma) and the Yangon-Pyay Road in eastern Minhla Township have been forced to flee due to the advancing junta troops.The information officer of Minhla Township PDF reported that most displaced residents have taken shelter in towns across western Bago, including Minhla, while approximately 1,000 individuals have sought refuge in the Bago Mountain Range.Another source close to the resistance forces told Myanmar Now that the resistance groups are more determined to launch strong offensives once junta troops reach the Bago Mountain Range, rather than engaging them in the lowland villages.Moe Htet reported that the displaced population is in critical need of food, shelter, and medical assistance. He also said that the military in the area seems to suspect that PDF forces are using the villages east of Yangon-Pyay Road as strongholds to launch operations along the road.“They seem to believe the PDFs can’t operate without these villages,” he said. “So they burned them down with that intention in mind.”

Junta column torches eight villages as it advances through western Bago

More than 400 troops burned homes, looted property, and displaced over 10,000 civilians in Minhla Township, resistance forces say

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