NUG-aligned fighters accused of torturing, killing village administrator in Magway

Fighters from Myanmar’s civilian National Unity Government (NUG) in Magway Region allegedly arrested and tortured three administrative officials during a midnight raid on November 23, killing one of them, according to local residents. The raid was reportedly carried out by People’s Defense Organization (PDO) officers in Ba Hin village, Myaing Township. The victim, Hla Aung, headed the village's PDO team. Residents said PDO members arrived in two vehicles around midnight, seized him and two other resistance officials—Wai Lu and Ye Lay—at gunpoint, and confiscated weapons before taking them away."In addition to the three who were taken, two G-3 rifles and a pistol were taken,” a source with direct knowledge of the incident told Myanmar Now. “U Hla Aung died that night. We still don't know what happened to the other two.”The source, who is anonymous for fear of reprisals, said the men were later beaten during interrogation on suspicion of being military informants. The PDO officials informed local residents on November 27 that Hla Aung had died in custody and had already been buried. "The PDO group said he [Hla Aung] died when comrades who returned from the front line interrogated him,” the source added. “They didn't return the body. They buried it without returning it, saying they would give back the ashes. That's what they said, but until now we haven't heard that the ashes were returned.” The fate of the two surviving resistance officials remains unclear. Myanmar Now attempted to reach Ko Cross, a Myaing Township PDO officer, for comment, but he did not respond to calls and messages. The NUG has set up the PDO, PAO and People’s Security Organization in areas under its control. The PDO functions as an armed local defense force and holds greater authority than the PAO and PSO. Hla Aung had been the village-level PAO head since 2021 and reportedly had good relations with the community, according to the source. Another resident told Myanmar Now that Hla Aung had been appointed after the NUG set up its administrative bodies post-coup and was known as a sober, well-liked figure in the village. He compared the killing to the junta’s own abuses in the early months after the 2021 coup, when soldiers routinely seized people during nighttime raids and returned their bodies the next morning. The dispute began the morning of November 23, when Hla Aung and other PAO members allegedly beat and reprimanded a young man for riding his motorcycle recklessly through the village. Reports said the man returned around 6pm with another man and a woman, furious over the earlier beating. Claiming to be a disciple of Myaing Township PDO officer Bo Letyar, he allegedly threatened to have the assailants arrested. The arrest occurred a few hours after this threatening visit, according to the same source. "They came to arrest them on Bo Letyar’s orders," he said. Myanmar Now attempted to contact Bo Letyar about the alleged use of his name during the incident but received no response. In areas with strong NUG territorial control such as Magway and Sagaing, killings, beatings, and threats by PDO members occur with some frequency, and various cases remain unsolved to this day. “Now, the PDO arrests someone and later claims they died accidentally—we can’t even get the body back,” the source said. “It’s a terrible situation.”

NUG-aligned fighters accused of torturing, killing village administrator in Magway

Residents say PDO officers arrested three village administrators at gunpoint before one died in custody and the others disappeared

Subscribe for full access

Fear grips Mandalay as junta-backed militias and kidnappers prey on residents

For Myanmar migrants in Thailand, hope is a 100-baht lottery ticket

‘Will it be different this time, Grandson?’

Across a border and into a war: A Karenni leader’s final journey

Subscribe for full access

Related Articles

TNLA and MNDAA rapidly upgrading Chinese border gates

At least 8 civilians killed by Myanmar junta airstrikes near Mon-Karen border

KIO/KIA rejects Myanmar junta’s offer of peace talks

Three killed in Magway Region as Myanmar junta forces continue push into Rakhine