Almost ten thousand locals had to flee due to Khin Oo and Pearl’s column.
Early this morning on June 24th, in Khin Oo Township in Sagaing division, and in the morning of June 23 in Pearl Township, villagers were raided by military council troops, and nearly 10,000 local residents were forced to flee their homes, said the residents of those townships.
Locals reported that a column stationed in Myin Daung Village, Khin Oo Township, opened fire early this morning on June 24th, killing a village woman and injuring six others.
The column entered Khin Oo Township on June 18th, and after being stationed in Myin Daung village for four days, on June 24th, the column is moving towards other villages.
Locals said that more than 4,000 residents of Gway Kone, IndaiGyi and other villages have fled their homes.
A resident of Khin Oo Township, who did not want to be named for security reasons, said that he could no longer do farming because he had to flee his home.
"The rainy season has already arrived, so there is a problem. We don't have refugee camps that have been opened exclusively. When they come, we have to run and when they don’t, we have to stay, then if it rains,it will be difficult for us to live. They are on a long day of patrol, so there is no convenience for the locals? I dare not go back to the village. We cannot do harvesting during the last spring harvest. It is just that it is the rainy season in which we have to do farming."
The column burned down some houses in Tesu village and continued to burn houses in Myittaw village, but the exact extent of the damage was not yet known, the residents said.
"The special thing about the military council forces is that they did not lay mines as usual. This time, the army left a mine in the prison, and the people stepped on it and lost their legs. This time they have started to use landmines again. So the people are in a more dangerous situation. We didn't dare to go back to where they had left. We don't have a mine detector."
Also in Pearl Township, on June 23rd, as the Military Council troops stationed at Zee Phyu Gone (Pyu Saw Htee Village) continued to patrol other villages, nearly five thousand residents of five villages, including Kyay Nin, have fled, local residents of Pearl Township said.
It is said that there are more than 100 people in that column, and since June 9th, they have been entering villages in Peral Township.
"Three civilians were taken as hostages from Nor Yoe. They started leaving the village of Zee Phyu Kone four days ago and took two people from Nyaung Pin Sauk as hostages. In addition, we spent one night in the countryside. The column continues today. There is still no news that the hostages have been released."
Those arrested are men aged between 30 and 50, and their names have not yet been determined.
According to the latest report on June 13th of 20232, by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) 765,200 residents of Sagaing Division have fled their homes after the military coup.
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