The number of civilian houses burned down by the military council has exceeded 60 till date since the fighting between the military council and the resistance forces in Nanza village in Kyauktaga Township in Nyaunglebin District in Bago Region in late July, according to local news sources.
“Fighting took place as the military council conducted an offensive in the village. The military council burned down 21 civilian houses in Nanza village following the first battle. Then, the military council soldiers were stationed in the village and again torched the houses,” a local man said.
“The armed force fired shots as the military council entered the village. The army designates it as a rebel village as the fighting takes place. So, the army destroys the houses. It has been over one week since the army burned down the houses in Nanza. The army burned down around 60 houses. Since the first battle, the army has been in the village,” he said.
Locals don’t dare to go home as the soldiers are stationed in the village. Locals are taking refuge in nearby places, he continued.
Another local who declined to be named said: “They (the military council) do as they usually do. Even if the people are able to return home, there will be no belongings left. Whether it’s expensive or not. If they can use it, they take it all,” he continued.
From May 2021 till the end of July 2023, the number of the houses burned down by the military council in the townships in the eastern part of Bago Region including Kyauktaga Township exceeded 200, according to the Data for Myanmar, a local research group.
Since the military coup, more than 150 houses have been burned down by the military council in Kawkareik, Thandaunggyi, Myawaddy, Hpa-An, Hpapun and Kyarinseikgyi Townships in Karen State, according to the Date for Myanmar.
Locals from more than seven villages in Kyauktaga Township have fled for safety due to the fighting and regional instability in the second week of August. They find it difficult to return to their villages as the region has no safety, according to locals.
Sent by KIC