Regime forces killed two local men near the Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Region’s Salingyi Township over the weekend, according to residents of the area.
A junta column of around 80 troops reportedly shot and killed one of the victims, a man in his 40s named Toe Gyi, near the entrance to the village of Kan Kone on Saturday morning.
The other victim, identified as U Naing, was in his 50s. He was captured at around the same time, but was found dead in a field just outside of the village two days later.
“We thought he was with the junta column when it left the area, but we found his body this morning. It was covered with bruises, most likely caused by beatings,” said a local man who spoke to Myanmar Now on Monday.
Both men were residents of Kan Kone, and both were also said to be employees of Sinohydro, a Chinese state-owned power company that operates at the Letpadaung mine.
The mine is jointly run by China’s state-owned Wanbao mining company and the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings, Ltd, a military-owned conglomerate.
The junta column was advancing along the Pathein-Monywa road to provide security for the copper mining project when it encountered and killed the two men, residents said.
The reason for the killings was not known, and no official statement has been released by the regime regarding the incident.
In January, a junta column that was carrying out raids in the area abducted several people, one of whom was later found beaten to death. Days earlier, the victim, 36-year-old Khaing Soe, was seen being used by the soldiers as a porter.
Late last year, nearly 10,000 villagers living near the mine were forced to flee their homes amid heightened security measures put in place for Chinese staff.
In April of last year, a coalition of resistance groups active in the area issued a statement demanding the closure of the mine and calling on workers to join the Civil Disobedience Movement against military rule.
As tensions grew, the military launched clearance operations that saw the murder of at least five local civilians.
Months after the military seized power in a coup in February 2021, the US State Department imposed sanctions on Wanbao’s Myanmar subsidiary and other companies involved in the mining project for providing “revenue and/or other support to the Burmese military.”
Residents say that regime forces have killed a total of 17 civilians near the mine, which is widely opposed by local residents.
