Three men found dead after attack on Myanmar military convoy

Three men who were abducted after an attack on a military convoy in Sagaing Region’s Tamu Township last Thursday were found dead the following day, according to resistance sources.

The men, who were all in their late 20s, were travelling between the villages of Khum Mun Nun and Yan Lin Hpai, about 20km south of the town of Tamu, when several explosions hit the convoy in the same area, the sources said.

“They were taken hostage soon after the attack and were interrogated all night until they were shot dead in the morning,” an officer of the Tamu People’s Defence Force (PDF) told Myanmar Now.

The victims were identified as Pao Tin Thang and Hao Len Mang, both from Yan Lin Hpai, and Sei Kho Thang, a resident of Khum Mun Nun.

Their bodies were discovered near Nan Mun Tar, a village about 2km from Khum Mun Nun, on Friday morning, local sources reported.

According to the Tamu PDF officer, the 13-vehicle convoy was heading north from Kalay Township when it was hit by a series of explosions on Thursday.

“We managed to land direct hits on two of the military vehicles, which were thrown into the air,” he said, adding that around 15 of the roughly 100 troops travelling with the convoy were killed.

Myanmar Now has been unable to independently confirm these figures.

The Tamu PDF officer said that regime forces fired a number of random shots after the incident, but no other casualties were reported.

The next day, the convoy continued on to Pan Thar, a village about 15km from Tamu, after leaving Khum Mun Nun in the morning, according to the Tamu PDF officer.

Troops stationed in Tamu also later arrived in Pan Thar following attacks on members of the military-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia based in the village, he added.

Tamu Township, which borders India, has seen frequent attacks on regime forces sent into the area to suppress local resistance groups.

Local residents said that the three men killed last week were among many civilians displaced by the conflict and forced to flee across the border into India.