Burma
Nyaung Pin Gyi village after a raid by regime forces on Sunday. / Anyar Pyit Taing Htaung Lay Myar
More than 3,000 civilians from eight villages in Sagaing Region’s Salingyi Township have fled their homes since Myanmar junta troops began torching civilian homes on Friday evening, after local resistance forces attacked a police station in Nyaung Pin Gyi Village.
Union Liberation Front and the Buffalo People’s Defense Force (Loikaw) fighters torched the police station and killed a dozen regime forces in the attack.
The Myanmar military responded with a 30-minute airstrike using an Mi-35 attack helicopter.
After the airstrike, more than 100 regime troops stationed at Letpadaung copper mine raided the village and set homes near the police station aflame.
Nyaung Pin Gyi is on the bank of Chindwin River near the copper mine, which is operated by the military and the Chinese company Wanbao.
Following the dual air and ground attacks, thousands of civilians began fleeing their homes. They have been finding shelter in monasteries and with relatives in other villages, according to the local youth charity Anyar Pyit Taking Htaung Lay Myar.
A spokesperson for the charity said villagers started fleeing as soon as the Peoples Defense Forces attacked the police station and had no time to take clothes and food with them.
“Some of the children are sick, so urgent medical and food aid is needed,” she told The Irrawaddy.
Regime troops continued setting homes aflame in Nyaung Pin Gyi village on the weekend and did the same in nearby Htan Taw village, according to the charity.
On Sunday, local residents said the body of resistance fighter Ko Myat Thu Lin, also known as Ko Bant Gyi, was found near the village.
He had also been a member of the Salingyi People’s administration.
Ko Myat Thu Lin, who was in his forties, was arrested by regime troops on May 31 near Nyaung Pin Gyi village.
He was transferred to Monywa interrogation center on June 3, according to Salingyi Information, a group that shares information about junta atrocities in the area.
His body was found after 11 days of detention. His body had knife wounds and other signs of torture. Junta troops also planted a land mine near his body and a resistance fighter was injured by it while trying to retrieve Ko Myat Thu Lin’s body, Salingyi Information said.
The youth charity said arson attacks on Nyaung Pin Gyi village continued on Monday morning but the extent of the damage was not yet known.
“For the fourth day, they torched houses in Nyaung Pin Gyi and nearby villages,” the charity’s spokesperson said.
Union Liberation Front spokesperson Ko At said many of the more than 1,000 homes in Nyaung Pin Gyi village had been destroyed by regime arson attacks.
There have been no clashes since the attack on the police station, but regime troops have stationed themselves in Nyaung Pin Gyi village and conducted raids around it, he added.
Salingyi is a resistance stronghold bordering Yinmarbin Township.
Junta troops have frequently used arson attacks to destroy villages in Sagaing Region in an apparent attempt to reduce the strength of the growing resistance they face.
