Mutilated bodies of civilians, resistance fighters found near Monywa 

Twelve people were captured and killed by occupying Myanmar army soldiers south of the Sagaing Region city of Monywa over the past week, with their bodies only discovered on Monday after the military’s departure from the area.

A column of around 150 troops and members of the allied Pyu Saw Htee militia began raiding villages along the eastern shore of the Chindwin River on November 3, displacing thousands of residents, according to the local chapter of the anti-junta People’s Defence Force (PDF).

In the days that followed, they targeted four communities—Nagadwin, Htanaung Taw, Sule Kone and Htan Lay Pin—and reportedly destroyed eight bases belonging to the resistance.

During the series of attacks, the junta took 15 people hostage, 12 of whom were later found dead on a farm to the west of Htan Lay Pin, and three of whom were still unaccounted for at the time of reporting.

The Monywa PDF member told Myanmar Now that among the victims were both civilians and resistance fighters, and at least four of the bodies had been disfigured. 

“They were decapitated, or had their limbs amputated,” he explained. “Some tried to flee by jumping into the [Chindwin] river and it appears that the military captured them anyway and mutilated them. Some witnesses saw the military shooting and capturing our members that were running into the river.”

A brief clash broke out between the PDF and the military unit as the junta’s forces entered Nagadwin, eight miles south of Monywa, on November 5. 

“There hasn’t been a major clash yet, but we attacked them with explosive devices and mortars, using 60mm shells,” the PDF member explained, claiming that 30 junta personnel were killed, a figure that Myanmar Now was unable to verify.

He also said that a 50-year-old man from Nagadwin—who is paralysed and was therefore unable to flee—was brutally beaten by the soldiers during the assault on the village. 

“He was found on the side of the road, barely alive,” the Monywa PDF member told Myanmar Now. “There were already ants on him, and his entire body was bruised and swollen from the kicks. He can barely move now and it’s very unlikely that he will survive.”

A battalion of the Monywa PDF calling itself the Thanmani Group after their leader, Bo Thanmani, ambushed a vehicle with eight military personnel at a roundabout in Monywa at 3pm on Monday, reportedly killing six of the soldiers. 

“Those in the front seats were killed and only two of the four who were in the back could fire back at us. The rest couldn’t even fight back,” Bo Thanmani said. 

He explained that his members had received intel regarding the troops’ movements but were unable to seize any weapons in the attack.