Motorbikes are engulfed by fire after a junta artillery battalion pounded Moebye town in Pekon Township in early June. /PKPF
Junta troops slaughtered at least five civilians during two days of raids in Moebye town, southern Shan State, on the border with the resistance stronghold of Kayah State, according to local sources.
A local rescue team confirmed that two brothers were shot dead in Moebye by junta troops on Thursday while two women and their father met the same fate a day later.
“At least five bodies of civilians were retrieved in two days and we couldn’t retrieve other bodies as junta troops were storming the town,” he said.
Sources said the two female victims were reportedly raped by junta troops before being killed.
The bodies of victims were cremated by a local volunteer group in Moebye, according to sources.
Around 13 people were detained by junta troops during the raids, according to the Moebye Rescue Team, citing a separate source.
“Some residents informed us that their family members were missing. Next day, we discovered that some of them had been killed by junta soldiers,” he said.
The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the claims.
Clashes erupted between junta troops and local resistance forces in Moebye town on May 27. Since then, regime forces have pounded its houses with heavy artillery and airstrikes. At least 13 civilians including three children had been killed by junta forces as of Friday, according to the Moebye Peoples Defense Force.
Five people including two girls, aged 3 and 11, died in the shelling while two other residents of the town were killed by regime infantry.
On Monday, local resistance forces launched a joint attack on junta troops in the town. The battle lasted nearly eight hours and left at least 10 junta troops dead and many others wounded, according to resistance groups.
The groups have yet to release detailed information on casualties.
Residents who have not fled are taking refuge at local monasteries, according to sources.
“People are afraid to stay in their homes as junta troops are conducting heavy shelling and arbitrary arrests,” a resident said.
Meanwhile, junta troops are using four other local monasteries as bases from which to conduct raids on Moebye, locals said.
