According to local sources, the military junta has stepped up patrols with hundreds of soldiers in Za Yat Gyi town in Htantabin Township, Taungoo District, Bago Region.
Locals report that the junta has stepped up its activities in villages such as Kin Mun Chon, Chaung Char and Doe Tan in Za Yat Gyi town over the past six months, including setting up checkpoints, patrolling villages with several soldiers and setting up positions. Returning IDPs are being arrested, causing people to be cautious about their movements.
A man from Za Yat Gyi town said, “They have set up checkpoints on Za Yat Gyi village road. In Chaugn Char, they patrol at night with hundreds of soldiers. Sometimes they force motorcyclists to take them to places they want to go.”
On 5 August, there was a clash between junta troops and some resistance forces in Doe Tan village, resulting in casualties on the junta side. According to some locals, this may have led to the troops moving into the Kin Mun Chon village area.
Due to the fighting in the Doe Tan and Kin Mun Chon areas and the presence of junta troops, some villagers have taken temporary refuge in nearby monasteries out of fear, as one monk who lives in one such monastery reported on social media.
A local from Za Yat Gyi said: “The villagers no longer flee all the way to Taungoo as they used to. They spend the night in monasteries or with relatives and return to their villages during the day. So far there have been no arrests of villagers.”
In February, there was a fierce battle in the Za Yat Gyi area in Htantabin Township, which included heavy airstrikes that forced tens of thousands of locals to flee to Taungoo.
Since then, young people entering or leaving the area are subject to stricter controls and arrests at the military checkpoints on Htantabin-Taungoo, according to locals.
In May, soldiers from Infantry Battalion 39, based in 4-Mile in Htantabin Township, shot and arrested two young men riding a motorcycle past their camp. One of them was killed, the other was arrested and tortured, according to the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG).
Sent by KIC.