This report contains disturbing images
Three people who went missing after the military arrived in the village of Son Kone in Sagaing Region’s Depayin Township late last week were found dead on Tuesday, according to local sources.
Residents who returned a day after soldiers left on Monday said they discovered the bodies by following footprints near a field used for landing helicopters about a mile away from the village.
“All three had bullet wounds on the left side of their chests. They also had bruises on their faces and stomachs. They were all dumped into a freshly dug hole,” said a member of the search team that found the bodies.
The victims were identified as Myat Thin, 55, Myo Naing, 40, and Aung Htay, who was said to be 12 years old, but reported by some news sources as 16.
According to the leader of a local People’s Defence Force (PDF) group operating in the area, Aung Htay was mentally challenged and may have inadvertently misled the junta troops who killed him.
“I think he absent-mindedly showed the military random places when they asked him if he had seen any resistance columns passing through. When they realized that the places he was showing them were not what they were looking for, they just killed him,” said Tasay, the leader of the Hnaw PDF.
According to Tasay, seven other locals who were detained shortly after the troops arrived in the village last Friday were later released.
The junta troops were also accused of destroying property, including a house and two vehicles, and looting the homes of villagers who fled ahead of their arrival.
Residents of Son Kone said they heard several gunshots near the field where the bodies were found at around 3pm on Saturday.
The three victims were believed to have been sheltering nearby when helicopters carrying an additional 100 troops began arriving earlier in the day.
According to the Hnaw PDF leader, two large units of regime troops have been carrying out clearance operations in the eastern and western parts of Depayin Township since November 8.
Son Kone was occupied by around 200 troops from both units until Monday, when they began leaving in four helicopters for Wat Phyu, a village in Ye-U Township, he said.
He warned villagers not to waste any time escaping from the junta troops, who he said had been sent to terrorise local people into submission.
“The soldiers don’t think like normal human beings—they just beat or kill everyone in sight. So people need to flee as soon as they hear they’re coming,” he said.
