
Soldiers shot and killed a 16-year-old boy in a village in Tanintharyi Region last week because he was outside after dark, locals have told Myanmar Now.
Junta troops stationed at a hilltop monastery in Launglon Township killed Yin Maung Thant at around 7pm on Friday “for going out at night,” one local said.
The boy was from Ka Det Nge Htein village in the Auk Yae Hpyu village tract.
Another local said junta soldiers had made no announcement about a nighttime curfew in the area.
“There were only rumours around the village that we couldn’t go out at night after the military arrived,” said the local. “They never officially announced that there was a curfew, so some of the villagers were still coming back late from working in the farms. How could they have known?”
Soldiers are now doing nightly checks for overnight guests at people’s homes and asking younger residents where they have been spending their time during the day, the local added.
About 80 troops entered the Auk Yae Hpyu village tract at around 9am on Friday and set up checkpoints at the entrance of the villages there. They occupied a pagoda, a high school, two monasteries, and the office of a funeral services organisation.
Twelve people from the area have been arrested while travelling between villages after dark, he said, adding that he did not know their names.
“We didn’t know the military council’s units were stationed in the villages and doing security checks. Many people were arrested for having political things on their phones… Some managed to escape and some didn’t. There haven’t been any cases of the military raiding houses or looking for someone by name,” he said.
Auk Yae Hpyu has seen regular protests against the dictatorship since the February 1 coup that have continued despite deadly crackdowns on peaceful demonstrators across the country.
Soldiers currently stationed in the area have told village leaders to tell people to stop protesting, locals said.
Soldiers who were stationed at the Auk Yae Hpyu high school for the month of July ransacked houses in the village tract and arrested some residents, locals said.
On July 16, soldiers arrested the father of a youth protest leader in Auk Yae Hpyu village because they were unable to find his son.