Myanmar junta forces kill six villagers in Mandalay Region raid

Regime forces killed six sick and elderly villagers during a raid on their homes in Mandalay Region’s Natogyi Township last week, according to local sources. The incident occurred on July 10, when a column of around 50 junta troops entered the villages of Letwe and Myinni before dawn and began setting fire to houses, sources told Myanmar Now. “The families of the victims left them behind, thinking this would be a ‘normal’ raid,” said one woman, explaining that during previous raids, soldiers looted houses but left them intact. “Those who were trapped were elderly stroke victims or young people with health problems,” she added. Letwe and Myinni are separated only by a road. They are located about 13 miles west of the town of Natogyi. The twin villages, which together have around 1,000 households, have been frequent targets of raids by junta forces based in neighbouring Myingyan Township. According to the woman, residents were warned that regime reinforcements had arrived in a nearby village the night before, giving them time to prepare to flee. “The villagers cooked some food to eat in the forest and packed their belongings. When the column arrived at around 3:30am, a clash started, and we could hear gunfire as we fled,” she said. The remains of one of the victims killed during the July 10 raid lies covered on the ground (Supplied) Two of the fleeing villagers were injured by artillery fire and are now receiving treatment, she added. Another resident said that the fire spread quickly due to the hot, dry wind that is typical of the region at this time of year. “The fire burned all day. There was no one there to put it out, so it just spread from one house to another,” the villager said, adding that between 300 and 500 houses were destroyed by the blaze. In late June, heavy artillery fired from a village in Myingyan Township injured two women in Letwe and Myinni, residents said. Natogyi Township, which is located about 60 miles southwest of Mandalay, is regarded as stronghold of anti-regime forces. According to latest data released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there are more than three million people displaced by conflict nationwide in Myanmar.

Myanmar junta forces kill six villagers in Mandalay Region raid

The victims were all sick or elderly residents unable to flee as soldiers set fire to their villages in Natogyi Township

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