Introduction
“Will there be more cases like Budalin just to prop up a madman’s throne?”
This question was raised during the photo campaign titled “No More Inhumanity in Myanmar” regarding the brutal killing of six civilians in Si Par village, Budalin Township. It serves as a reminder not only to the people but also to the revolutionary forces to never forget the inhumane acts of the military council, and to continue their revolutionary duties with all their might to prevent such inhumane acts from happening again. 1
This week’s Burma News International (BNI)-Myanmar Peace Monitor’s Bi-Weekly News Review documents the brutal killing of civilians in Si Par village, Budalin Township, and nationwide mass killings resulting in five or more deaths based on events and factual data.
The Si Par Massacre
The incident took place on 17 October 2024 – the full moon day of Thadingyut, a sacred day for Buddhists. Inside Si Par village in Budalin Township, Sagaing Region, junta soldiers dismembered the bodies of six civilians and hung them from house fences. It was a shocking sight to see severed body parts such as heads, arms, and legs, skeletons with the skin peeled off and internal organs from the abdomen.
Photo – The fence on which heads, legs, and arms were hung
At the entrance of Si Par village, the bodies of two residents of Si Par village – U Yar Sein and U Htay Lwin, both about 50 years old – were found with gunshot wounds, along with other unidentified bodies. The dismembered bodies of U Tin Hlaing, who was over 80 years old, and U Tet Aung and U Kyaung Po, both in their 40s, were found in the central part of the village.
According to a statement from the National Unity Government (NUG) Ministry of Human Rights, a column of more than 100 soldiers from the Northwestern Command raided villages and wards in Budalin Township, burned down houses and arrested and killed civilians over an 11-day period from 10 to 20 October. In addition, the military carried out airstrikes in the area. At least 24 civilians were killed, including three children, three women, and one elderly person.
Related Incidents
Over a 12-day period from 21 February to 3 March 2024, junta forces, including Light Infantry Battalions (LIBs) 11, 361, 708, and members of the Pyu Saw Htee militia collaborated in offensives in the western villages of Taze Township, Sagaing Region and brutally murdered 11 civilians. The killings involved beheadings, throat-slitting, dismemberment, and head-smashing with axes.
On 1 March 2023, a column of the Light Infantry Division 99 entered Tar Taing village in Sagaing Township and killed People’s Defense Force leader Yebaw Michael (aka) Ko Kyaw Zaw by dismembering his body. On 2 March, as they left Tar Taing village, they abducted 16 local civilians as human shields, including 13 men and three women aged between 17 and 67.
All 16 Tar Taing residents abducted as human shields were killed, and their bodies were found in Tar Taing village, and on Nyaung Yin island in Nyaung Yin village in Myinmu Township on 2 March. According to an eyewitness who saw the bodies, the female victims appeared to have been sexually assaulted before being murdered.
On 30 March 2023, junta soldiers beheaded and dismembered 31-year-old Bo Sin Rai, the deputy commander of Battalion 1 of the Sagaing District People’s Defense Force (PDF) near Swea Lwe Oh village in Myaung Township, Sagaing Region. He was a former fire brigade corporal who had joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) after the military coup.
Mass killings resulting in five or more deaths across the country
According to BNI-Myanmar Peace Monitor records, from 1 April 2022 to 25 October 2024, there were up to 200 mass killings resulting in five or more deaths across Myanmar. More than 92 percent (185) of the incidents were committed by military junta forces, 12 incidents (6 percent) by unidentified groups, two incidents (1 percent) by People’s Defense Forces/Local Defense Forces (PDFs/LDFs), and one incident by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).
Breakdown of mass killings by perpetrator groups
29 percent (58) of the incidents happened in Sagaing Region, where 645 civilians were killed, making it the region with the highest number of mass killings. Arakan State saw 30 incidents with 367 civilian deaths, making it the second-highest region for mass killings. Following these, Mandalay Region, northern Shan State, Magway Region, and Kachin State each recorded more than 10 incidents of mass killings where five or more people were killed.
Mass killing incidents by region along their death toll
– Number of deaths in incidents where 5 or more people were killed – Incidents where 5 or more people were killed
An analysis of the timeline of mass killings resulting in five or more deaths shows that over a 31-month period from April 2022 to October 2024, these incidents occurred in each month, with a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 15 incidents per month. Notably, there were six months in which 10 or more mass killings were recorded, with five of these months occurring in 2024.
Mass killing incidents by month over a 31-month period
From January to 25 October 2024, there were 94 incidents of mass killings resulting in five or more deaths throughout the country. This accounts for almost 50 percent of the 200 cases, indicating an escalation in mass killings.
Review
Local residents refer to the military junta troops who committed mass killings against civilians as Tiger Ogre Column or simply Ogre Column. The junta soldiers who have deliberately arrested and murdered people, often dismembering their bodies, clearly demonstrate a lack of humanity and human conscience.
Analysis of these massacres, including the case in Si Par village in Budalin Township, shows that they are directly linked to the incidents where junta troops suffered significant casualties and losses during armed conflicts.
On 30 September 2024, a junta column of over 80 soldiers was almost completely annihilated during the battle near Si Par village. Local resistance forces captured more than 40 junta soldiers alive. The resistance forces from Budalin, Yinmabin, Kani, Tabayin, and Ayadaw Townships jointly fought in this battle, which took place only about 20 miles from the Northwestern Command in Monywa. However, after the battle, the military council sent an inhumane military column into the villages in Budalin Township, escalating arrests, killings of civilians, burning of civilians’ houses, and bombings.
To recapture the lost towns, military council chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has explicitly stated that they will respond as needed based on available intelligence.
While the capture of towns and military operations that inflicted heavy losses on the military regime have shaken it, the resistance forces should start seriously considering the possibility of civilian-targeted attacks as in the Si Par village incident.
Justice should be pursued for the 200 incidents of mass killings resulting in five or more deaths, including the Si Par village case, in which 1,960 people were killed. Myanmar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador U Kyaw Moe Tun, told the open session of the UN Security Council titled ” Women Building Peace in a Changing Environment” that the military junta soldiers who committed brutal acts such as dismembering bodies and hanging heads on fences are mentally disturbed individuals whose actions are appalling.
On the question raised by the “No More Inhumanity in Myanmar” photo campaign – “Will there be more cases like Budalin just to prop up a madman’s throne?” – the revolutionary forces, international governments, and organizations should start taking this matter seriously.
1 PIA conducts photo campaign: “Si Par village incident in Budalin shows there is no more humanity in Myanmar”, Public Voice Television, 27 October 2024
2 Human hell in Si Par village, Myanmar Now, 22 October 2024
3 NUG calls killings of civilians and using them as human shields by junta in Budalin Township a clear military tactic, NUG-MOHR, 22 October 2024
4 11 civilians dismembered in Taze, Myanmar Now, 6 March 2024
5 Three women raped and killed in Tar Taing village massacre, RFA, March 6, 2024
6 Junta’s notorious ‘Ogre Column’ in Sagaing Region, RFA, 13 April 2024