Junta Forces Burn Down An Entire Village In Myanmar

A village in the northwestern Sagaing region was burned down on Monday after it was shelled by junta forces, according to local media and resistance activists in the area, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

Photo Insert: The fire allegedly set by the Myanmar military in Keba Village, Sagaing

Some 100 junta soldiers entered Kaebar village in the Ayardaw township on Monday morning, prompting villagers to flee in fear of arrests and killings. The soldiers torched people's homes, reducing some 100 houses to ash as no one came to extinguish the fire.

"They came into the village by shelling artillery and the villagers ran into the forest. Then they burned the houses," a statement from a local defense force in the Ayardaw township revealed.

"They started to burn around 9:30 a.m. and they left the village in the afternoon," it said. A witness told dpa, "Before they entered the villages, they shelled the artillery and we the villagers ran away. They burned our homes. We could not stop the fire in time."

The villagers were left with nothing, with many forced to find shelter in nearby areas, the witness added. Photographs and videos shared online showed smoke and the burned village, prompting anger as the images went viral.

Fighting continues between junta forces and local civilian groups, with Sagaing among the areas most affected. The military in the South-East Asian country staged a coup on February 1, ousting civilian head of government Aung San Suu Kyi and plunging Myanmar into chaos and violence.

Myanmar's military continues to launch brutal attacks and raids on protesters and civilians nationwide, targeting resistance.

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