A junta column murdered two civilians and mutilated one after coming under attack from resistance forces south of the town of Depayin in Sagaing Region over the weekend.
The first victim was captured along with two other residents of the village of Let Tee, a village located about 7km south of Depayin, on September 30.
The body of Naing Lin, 40, was found later the same day with his head, right hand, and both legs missing, according to the leader of a local defence group.
“The victims were people who had been left behind in the village. The one who was killed was not just decapitated, but also cut up into pieces,” the defence team leader said.
“His hand was stuffed inside the wall of a house, and his head was wrapped in a longyi,” he added.
There were no bullet wounds or other injuries on Naing Lin’s body, suggesting that the cause of death was decapitation. Information regarding the other two captured villagers was not available at the time of reporting.
was discovered by local defence groups in southern Depayin Township
on September 30 (Supplied)
The column responsible for the killing consisted of several hundred junta troops and was based in Depayin, according to the defence team leader, who added that Naing Lin was not a member of any anti-regime group.
After raiding Let Tee, the column proceeded to attack another village several kilometres to the south called Pyan Kya, where they also engaged in another clash with allied resistance forces.
“We believe around a dozen junta soldiers were killed in the fighting, but then they launched an airstrike. However, we were able to retreat without suffering any losses,” the commander of a People’s Defence Force battalion active in the area told Myanmar Now.
The following day, after spending the night in Pyan Kya, the regime soldiers raided Nabe Hla, another village in the area, where they captured a man named Win Aung.
According to local resistance sources, Win Aung’s body was found in Bagan, about 5km east of Nabe Hla, on Tuesday afternoon. Several houses were torched in Bagan before before the junta column returned to Depayin, the sources said.
Myanmar’s military routinely uses acts of extreme cruelty against its opponents as well as local civilians to terrorise them into submission—a tactic that has shown no signs of success since it seized power more than two and a half years ago.
Early last week, another junta column executed and dismembered two captured resistance fighters and a civilian in Nyaung Kone, a village about 10km from the town of Pale in southern Sagaing Region.
The regime has also carried out indiscriminate airstrikes in areas where its ground troops are vulnerable to attack.
Last Tuesday, thousands of people were forced to flee from 10 villages after the military used an attack helicopter to provide air support for junta troops battling resistance forces in eastern Depayin Township.
