Myanmar regime forces kill five youths near Myingyan

Junta troops and members of the military-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia detained and killed five young men in Mandalay Region’s Myingyan Township on Saturday, according to local sources. The five men, all from neighbouring Taungtha Township, were taken into custody while they were in Myingyan for a night out, a source close to some of the victims told Myanmar Now. They were identified as Tin Myo Khine, Khant Chaw, and Myat Thu, all aged 19, Mhwar Tar, 22, and Khine Wai Phyo, 25. None of the five were members of the People’s Defence Force (PDF) or any other resistance group, the source added. “These kids weren’t involved with any PDF group. They were just regular civilians. They went out to Myingyan on Friday for a night of karaoke, ignoring their parents’ warnings. They didn’t even bring their motorcycles. They went there by bus,” he said. “We don’t know if they got into trouble with the owner of the karaoke bar first or if it was just with the military. We don’t know how they were arrested or why, but they all ended up dead,” the man added. The bodies of all five victims were found on the side of the road near the entrance to Magyi Thamya, a village located about a mile southeast of Myingyan, with their hands tied behind their backs, the man reported. According to residents of Magyi Thamya, a truck full of junta soldiers arrived in the village shortly after midnight and took the five men away. Autopsies were conducted at the Myingyan General Hospital, but no official cause of death was given. Police who notified the families of the victims said they died while fighting each other. Myanmar Now was unable to independently verify its source’s information. Calls to local authorities went unanswered. The killings were also reported by the Taungtha People’s Movement Committee, a group that provides security updates for residents of the area. It routinely warns civilians to steer clear of “bloodthirsty” junta troops. Myingyan is regarded as a stronghold of anti-regime forces. On January 22, an attack on a police vehicle near the village of Taw Pu left all of its occupants dead. Anti-junta activists claim that the military has conducted multiple arson attacks in Myingyan District and also shot and killed civilians on several occasions. There are eight PDF battalions under the command of the shadow National Unity Government in Myingyan District, as well as dozens of local defence teams, according to resistance sources.

Myanmar regime forces kill five youths near Myingyan

None of the five victims were members of an anti-regime group, according a source close to some of them

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