Myanmar junta forces kill at least 14 civilians in Sagaing’s Budalin Township

Regime soldiers murdered at least 14 civilians in Sagaing Region’s Budalin Township last week during a series of raids carried out in retribution for a deadly resistance attack late last month. The victims were all slaughtered over the weekend by a column of more than 100 junta troops stationed in Monywa, about 20 miles south of Budalin, locals and resistance sources reported. On Saturday, soldiers forced their way into a store in Budalin’s Bandula Ward and killed six people hiding inside, a resident of the town told Myanmar Now. “No one opened the door when they knocked, so they broke the lock and then killed everyone there after entering,” the local said. The victims of that attack were identified as store owner Phoe Kyar, his wife Daw Thin, their 25-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son, and two other related children, both under the age of seven. This followed a raid carried out on the nearby village of Myauk Kyi late the night before, which left at least seven people dead. Details about their identities were not available at the time of reporting. The column then entered Tet Hlaing, another village in the area, and killed an elderly man, according to residents. As of Tuesday, none of the bodies had been recovered due to the continuing presence of the column in the two villages, according to resistance sources. At least 50 villagers, including women and elderly people, have also been taken captive by the column. Several who managed to escape said the death toll from the raids could be higher than reported. The bodies of six family members killed by junta forces in Budalin on October 12 (Supplied) Myanmar Now has attempted to contact Nyunt Win Aung, the junta-appointed social affairs minister for Sagaing Region, regarding the situation, but has yet to receive a response. The raids come in the wake of an attack on another junta column last month that left at least 20 soldiers dead and dozens more captured by resistance forces in Budalin Township. That incident occurred as the column of around 80 regime troops left Ku Taw, the village where they were stationed, for the 13-mile march to the town of Budalin on September 30. Since then, the military has moved more cautiously in the area, and has inflicted heavy civilian casualties as retribution for its losses, according to resistance sources. “In their earlier advances, they moved from Budalin to Ku Taw in just one day. Now, they go from village to village, each one only 10 to 15 minutes apart, and set up camp for the night. This is their pattern now,” said a member of a local anti-junta group. Thousands of people living in villages north and west of the town of Budalin have fled their homes as a result of the junta column’s advance through the area, according to locals. “Before, when we tried to get away from the fighting, we sought refuge in nearby villages. Now we can’t be sure the village we escape to won’t be targeted by airstrikes. So most people are fleeing to the forest,” said one displaced villager. A woman assisting those forced to flee said that about 8,000 people were in urgent need of food, shelter, and medicine. While the military still has troops in Budalin and Ku Taw, resistance forces say they now control most of the rest of the township.

Myanmar junta forces kill at least 14 civilians in Sagaing’s Budalin Township

The brutal murders come weeks after resistance forces wiped out an entire column of regime soldiers in a single deadly attack late last month

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