Residents of a village in southern Sagaing Region’s Myinmu Township were tortured following a raid by junta troops looking for the leader of a local resistance group, according to sources.
A military column of around 50 soldiers arrived in the village of Nyaung Yin early Wednesday morning and began looking for the home of Sa Lone, a leader of a People’s Defence Force (PDF) group operating in the area, a resident told Myanmar Now.
“They entered the village from two spots at around 5:30am and went looking for the house of the person they were trying to find. They then rounded up about 15 men and took them to the Shwebonthar monastery, where they tortured them,” said a 45-year-old man who did not want to be named.
According to the man, most of the village’s residents fled to an island on the Ayeyarwady River. Soldiers pursued them and fired several shots before returning to the village to resume their search, he added.
Nyaung Yin is located at the confluence of the Muu and Ayeyarwady rivers and has more than 3,000 inhabitants.
The column that carried out the raid has also been accused of arson attacks, including one that destroyed the village of Kantaw on April 29, and was also responsible for the death of eight PDF fighters killed on Tuesday.
“The column has been in the area since they torched Kantaw. They are stationed at the pagoda in Alakapa and have also been launching attacks on Myaung,” said the commander of a local PDF battalion.
PDF fighters said they engaged the column as it approached Nyaung Yin, but were forced to retreat due to the superior firepower of the junta soldiers.
