Seven tortured by Pyu Saw Htee in Kanbalu; six burned to death

Members of the pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia captured seven men and boys in Sagaing Region’s Kanbalu Township last week and burned all but one to death, according to local sources. The victims were travelling by motorcycle from Singu Township in Mandalay Region, where they had been working at a gold mine, when they were stopped on their way to their home village of Hnget Pyaw Taing in Kanbalu on September 9, sources said. “Their work wasn’t going well, so they decided to go home. They chose a route that was supposed to be safe, according to what people were saying on social media. They were all civilians,” a local man told Myanmar Now. One of the victims, a 15-year-old boy identified as Maung Maung (not his real name), escaped four days later after he and the others were left for dead, the man added. “The boy is now deeply traumatised. He is very young. We have arranged a safe place for him and are keeping him there,” he said. The deceased have been identified as Soe Tint, 45; Chit Thae Maung, 23; Than Zaw Htun, 23; Ye Wai Moe, 18; Moe Thet Kha, 16; and Chan Phyo Wai, 14. According to the Kyunhla-Kanbalu Activists Group, the boy said he and the others were captured at a junta checkpoint on the road from Shwebo to Kanbalu and taken to the monastery in the village of Bu Kone, where they were tortured for the next four days. All seven were beaten repeatedly with wet bamboo after being forced to remove their shirts, the boy told the group. They were also denied food and had their hands tied behind their backs the whole time, he said. Then, on the evening of September 12, they were taken out to a pile of tires and beaten on the head until they lost consciousness, the boy said. “When they figured we couldn’t escape, they set us on fire and left. I was lucky to regain consciousness and run away,” the boy told the Kyunhla-Kanbalu Activists Group. A member of the group noted that the military has dramatically expanded its forces along the strategic Shwebo-Myitkyina road, which passes through Kanbalu, since the second week of August. “A large junta force has been advancing along the road, clearing the area,” he said. “The column has spread out along the route.” Kanbalu Township is regarded as a resistance stronghold, but is also home to a large number of Pyu Saw Htee forces, including many under the leadership of ultranationalist monk U Warthawa. It also hosts the headquarters of the junta’s Tank Battalion 6006. Earlier this year, the military deployed a large force to regain control of the Kanbalu–Kawlin road, to the west of the Shwebo-Myitkyina road. It has since occupied key villages along the route. As the regime intensifies its efforts to regain control of areas east of the town of Kanbalu, resistance forces have warned locals to remain cautious amid reports of civilians being detained and killed by junta troops. According to the Kyunhla-Kanbalu Activists Group, nine local civilians died during three days of raids by junta forces in Kanbalu Township in late June. Last month, at least 11 civilians living in villages across the township were killed, the group said.

Seven tortured by Pyu Saw Htee in Kanbalu; six burned to death

The sole survivor said he escaped after he and the others were beaten unconscious, set on fire on a pile of tires, and left for dead

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