Junta troops set fire to Kyakhat village in Sagaing’s Depayin Township; village of 270 houses in Sagaing ‘completely destroyed’ by junta arsonists.
Monitoring Desk
Yangon
Junta troops set fire to 14 houses in Ai Taung West Village in Kani Township, Sagaing Region on 20 February, according to a community leader. He said that they also killed a volunteer at the village monastery.
“They [junta troops] are inhumane. When the head monk told us to run away, 35-year-old Chaw Tun, [who was] volunteering in the monastery, remained in the monastery to look after people. He was stabbed in the neck and kicked down the stairs. I was very sorry to see the blood on the stairs,” said the local community leader.
The junta’s troops started setting fire to the houses in the village at 6 pm on 20 February. Fourteen houses and two pig farms were reduced to ashes. Ai Taung West Village is about 18 miles from Kani Township. Almost all of the villagers have now fled the fighting.
Kyakhat village, about three miles away from the southern part of Depayin Township in Sagaing Region, was also set on fire by junta troops at 8.30am on 21 February, according to locals.
“They deliberately first set fire to houses upwind [from the rest of the village] so that the whole village would burn,” said a member of the local people defense forces.
The junta troops left Sai Pyin village at around 7 a.m. on 21 February and arrived at Kyakhat village at 8 a.m. before setting it on fire at 8.30 a.m. Kyakhat village is located between Sai Pyin village and Depayin town.
Junta troops have already attacked several villages in Sagaing Region’s Depayin Township using heavy artillery and helicopters, since the beginning of February.
According to another report, About 270 houses in Chaung Oo village, 20 miles from Pale township Sagaing Division, were set on fire by a joint force of Military Council soldiers and Pyu Saw Htee, a pro-military group, according to a villager.
“Military troops entered the village around 8:30 a.m. and they started setting fire from the north of the village. They were also shooting. So far, we heard that there are only 15 houses left in the village,” a Chaung Oo villager told Mizzima.
There are almost 300 houses in the village and the houses were deliberately set on fire without any fighting, according to locals.
“We have been fleeing it since yesterday because of the news. Pets are also being moved at the same time. I don’t know if our house is gone,” a villager who fled said.
No one dared to put out the fires as soldiers and Pyu Saw Htee were firing in the village.
“We have to collect the money and build it to get a house. Now I’m sad that it was deliberately set on fire,” said a worker who said he spent three years to afford to build a house. He said he prayed the assailants would suffer Karma for what they had done.
An aerial photo of Chaung Oo village, which has been circulating on social media, shows smoke billowing from almost every house in the village.
Arson appears to be a common strategy used by Military Council forces in Sagaing who appear to suspect villagers of harboring People’s Defence Forces. The region has seen heavy attacks on civilians over several months.
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Courtesy: MIZZIMA
