Regime forces attacked two villages in Sagaing Region’s Chaung-U Township on Saturday, killing four people and destroying more than 200 buildings, according to local resistance sources.
Zarni Thein, the leader of the Chaung-U People’s Defence Force (PDF), said the group entered the neighbouring villages of Ngar Lone Tin and Ma Hti Thar, both located some 10km south of the town of Chaung-U, after the junta troops left on Sunday.
He said they found three charred bodies in a house in the southern part of Ngar Lone Tin, while the third victim was discovered in Ma Hti with a bullet wound in his head.
Around 150 houses in Ngar Lone Tin and another 80 in Ma Hti Thar had been destroyed by fire, he added.
According to a local resident, the only body that has been identified so far was the one found in Ma Hti Thar.
“We could only identify the one who was shot in the temple at close range. There was hardly anything left of the others. They had been reduced to ash,” he said.
He said the gunshot victim was 33-year-old Ngar Lone Tin resident Yan Aung.
The Chaung-U PDF leader said that the group was also trying to locate a number of villagers who had gone missing while trying to flee from the military during the raids.
“There are still some people that we are trying to find through our contacts,” he said.
He also claimed that his group and a local defence team called Chaung-U Middle Wolves Army (CMWA) attacked the junta column that carried out the raids as they left the area, killing at least six soldiers.
CMWA also requested donations for the displaced villagers, including medication for elderly residents who had been forced to flee their homes.
The raids on Saturday came just days after the military destroyed more than 100 houses in the village of Mae Thae Kyoe, located about 3km west of Chaung-U, last Tuesday.
