Weekly Analysis: Junta Targets Civilians in Violent Interrogations

October 7, 2024

The Burma Army is desperate for legitimacy. As the regime continues to lose critical bases and territory, its retaliatory response has targeted innocent civilians. In target areas of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), including Mon State, Karen State and the Tanintharyi region, villagers are among the hardest hit when the junta deploys its offensives.

Enforced disappearances and abductions are being reported across the region as those suspected of any ties or allegiances to pro-democracy forces are not heard from following their arbitrary arrests. These sinister acts further prove the junta’s desperation and quest for control through all means.

On the morning of September 27, the bodies of three villagers, who junta forces had captured, were discovered in a well in Maungmagan village, Long Lone Township, Dawei District. The tragic discovery was made after a temporary military junta base near the Maungmagan police station was vacated. Villagers went in search of their missing neighbours and came across the bodies near where the junta was based.

The deceased were identified as residents of Maungmagan village, including one man named Ko Myo, according to local reports. “The bodies were already decomposing. We don’t know if they were shot or if they died during interrogation,” a local villager stated.

The three victims were part of a group of about ten villagers who were captured by the junta troops on the evening of September 12 following an artillery attack on the temporary military base. While some of the detained villagers were later released, the three who perished remained in custody. This marks yet another brutal incident amid ongoing military aggression in the region, causing fear and distress among local communities.

Just a few days before, on the evening of September 24, junta troops raided homes in Waerak village, Mon State, and arrested two men. These men, both in their 30s, were rubber and motorcycle traders. Their families have been prohibited from contacting them.

On September 25, three more men from Thanbyuzayat Town were also arrested. Details surrounding the arrests remain unclear, but all five individuals are currently being held and interrogated at the Wae Ka Li military base, where they have faced harsh conditions, including being forced to stand in the sun and rain and enduring beatings during questioning.

Military graduates and administrators are reportedly leading these arrests, with around 40 men currently detained in Thanbyuzayat Town. Since the military coup, more than 900 people in Mon State have been arrested, many of whom have been charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

These recent arrests are part of a larger pattern of arbitrary detentions in Mon State, where the junta has targeted township police chiefs, lawyers, social group members, and civilians accused of supporting resistance forces.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under Analysis, News