Junta troops raid village in Tha Yet Chaung: Abduct 14 villagers

May 17, 2023

HURFOM: Early morning of May 10, the junta military consisting of more than 30 soldiers from the 403rd Infantry Battalion raided Nyaung Zin village in Tha Yet Chaung Township, #Dawei and abducted roughly 14 villagers, including five women.

According to eyewitnesses, those taken were beaten on the road.

The soldiers stormed into Nyaung Zin village in two lorries, threatening to fire their weapons. A 40-year-old villager recounted what the incident, noting that most of those arrested were villagers who went out to shop for food in the morning,

“We usually see that they go in by military trucks and lorries. This time, the junta forces used civilian trucks, like a lorry truck carrying stones or a garbage truck. They indiscriminately fired into the village and grabbed the villagers they saw on the street that morning. The majority of the detainees were young men. Those who refused were kicked and hit by gun butts. It happened around 6:30 in the morning,” said a local resident.

According three local villagers, military units were from the Junta’s 403rd Light Infantry Battalion (LIB), operating under the Coastal Regiment Command based in #Dawei.

“One of us saw their badges and mentioned LIB 403. Some troops searched the houses along the road in the middle village,” said a 50-year-old witness from Nyaung Zin.

All 14 detainees were beaten on the side of the road and interrogated until 2:00 pm. Later on, four men were taken away with their faces covered and their hands tied behind their backs, the residents said. No one taken has been released yet.

Nyaung Zin Village is a large village on the Dawei-Myeik highway, about 8 miles away from Dawei.

In April of this year, more than 90 local people, including 3 children, were arrested in Ya Nge village by the junta military and some were eventually released a few days after being taken.

Written by Modinator · Filed Under News