Regime forces murdered a man and set fire to a rubber plantation after being ambushed in southern Tanintharyi Region’s Palaw Township early last week, according to a local resistance source.
The incident occurred in Shut Pon, a village located about 5km west of the town of Palaw, a day after anti-junta fighters killed two soldiers and two members of the military-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia there on January 16.
“They came back the next day and slit the throat of a local man. Then they set fire to a rubber plantation, which spread to several nearby houses,” said Mya Zan, the spokesperson for the Crocodile Column, a coalition of resistance groups based in the area.
While the victim could not be identified at the time of reporting, he appeared to be in middle age and was believed to be on his way to work when he ran into his killers, according to Mya Zan.
The day before the incident, a column of about 50 regime forces was attacked with explosives as it entered the village at around midday.
The junta troops retreated after about 30 minutes, but fighting later resumed when the resistance forces encountered soldiers already in the village, said Mya Zan.
Among those killed was Nyein Chan Aung, a local Pyu Saw Htee leader who was also the village’s junta-appointed administrator, he added.
Weapons and ammunition—including a carbine, a 9-round pistol, two grenades, 310 5.56mm bullets, and six 40mm bullets—were also seized from the regime forces.
Shut Pon, a village of around 2,000 households, is regarded as a Pyu Saw Htee stronghold. The military reportedly supplied weapons directly to Nyein Chan Aung.
Security has been tightened around the village since last week’s attack, with the military deploying two naval vessels to restrict access, according to monitor group Dawei Watch.
Late last year, the Crocodile Column launched an assault on junta troops stationed in Htamin Ma Sar, another pro-regime village located about 25km north of Palaw.
The group, which is allied with the publicly mandated National Unity Government, declared that operation as the first in which several area resistance forces had collaborated on a single mission.
