Regime forces destroyed more than 100 houses in the predominantly Catholic village of Chan Thar in Sagaing Region’s Ye-U Township on Tuesday, according to residents.
The village, which has been raided repeatedly since it first came under attack on May 7, was formerly home to around 2,000 inhabitants living in 500 households. Most are currently in hiding.
Junta troops entered the village, located about 10km west of the town of Ye-U, at around 4pm on Tuesday and immediately started setting fire to the largest and most expensive homes, locals said.
“They started setting fires from the northern part of the village all the way down to its southern edge. Around 110 houses were destroyed. They did this deliberately, to completely obliterate our village,” a local man said on Wednesday.
The military column of around 120 soldiers that carried out the attack left the village early the next morning. Some villagers returned at around 7am to try to put out the fires, according to the man.
He also noted that the soldiers appeared to have used some sort of highly flammable material to ensure that the fires did the maximum amount of damage.
“The residue suggests that it was a kind of slime consisting of diesel fuel mixed with chemicals,” he said, speaking to Myanmar Now on condition of anonymity.
“Whatever it was, it was formed into slimy balls that burned for at least half an hour without going out. They were attached to the walls of all the houses that were set on fire,” he said.
According to the man, the village has been raided a total of 16 times since 21 houses were destroyed there on May 7.
“Previously, they just took what they wanted and burned down a few houses,” he said, describing Tuesday’s attack as the worst and most systematic so far.
There were also reports that two men were killed by regime forces in the village in January.
In March, junta troops raided Chaung Yoe, a Catholic village in Sagaing’s Taze Township, setting fire to the pulpit and altar of its church and burning robes and other sacred items.
More than 300 houses were destroyed and a 55-year-old man and his son were shot and killed during the raid, according to a Chaung Yoe resident.
According to the latest figures compiled by monitor group Data For Myanmar, nearly 19,000 houses have been destroyed by regime forces nationwide since last year’s coup. Of these, almost 14,000 were in Sagaing Region alone, the group said.
