Junta forces stationed at the Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Region’s Salingyi Township detained and tortured 23 local civilians following an attack by resistance forces last week, according to one of those who were held.
The victims—nine men and 14 women—were rounded up on September 12, hours after a blast at the mine site that evening, and held for the next four days, the source said.
During that time, they were repeatedly beaten while under interrogation, a released detainee told Myanmar Now.
“They questioned us about where the bombers were from. When we said we didn’t know, they refused to accept our answer and continued to kick and beat us,” he said.
The abuse began on the evening of their arrest and continued through the next day, leaving a number of detainees badly injured, he added.
“I’m receiving treatment for my right eye, which was injured by a kick. Others were kicked in the stomach, and some sustained head injuries,” he said.
One boy who was arrested while returning home after spending the day harvesting peanuts was forced to lie face down on the ground while drunken soldiers threatened to stab his hands with a knife, the man continued.
Locals reported that junta troops also raided villages in the area for three days from September 12, as copper plates from the mine were transported to a nearby port on the Chindwin River.
The mine, jointly operated by the military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings, Ltd (UMEHL) and subsidiaries of China’s state-owned Wanbao Mining Company, is a major source of revenue for the junta that seized power in February 2021.
Profits from the site are divided between the state-owned No. 1 Mining Enterprise, which takes 51 percent; Wanbao, which receives 30 percent; and UMEHL, which claims 19 percent.
Although operations were suspended in 2022 due to resistance activities targeting the site, they have resumed since the beginning of this year, according to locals.
Earlier this month, anti-regime groups carried out a series of drone attacks on junta troops stationed at the mine, triggering raids on nearby villages.
According to locals, the mine’s management has been encouraging employees who stopped working in protest at the military takeover to return to their jobs.
At the height of tensions in the region, numerous murders were reported near the Letpadaung mine, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes.
