Marauding junta troops are blazing a trail of destruction as they try to advance on the Sagaing Region resistance stronghold of Myaung from Yesagyo Township on the Magwe-Sagaing border.
Supported by artillery battalions from Myingyan and Yesagyo as well as warplanes and warships, junta troops have been raiding villages on the Magwe-Sagaing border since Feb. 26, forcing more than 20,000 people from their homes in over 20 villages, according to Ko Nway Oo from the Civil Defense and Security Organization of Myaung (CDSOM).
“There have been clashes as troops are trying to enter Myaung,” he said. “Apart from air and naval support, they have been firing howitzers from Yesagyo and Myingyan. [Junta battalions] from Myaung have been firing howitzers and machine guns at Pann Nyo village till today. More people are being displaced.”
Yesagyo is a sprawling township on the confluence of the Chindwin and Irrawaddy rivers that borders Myaung Township on the left bank of the Irrawaddy upriver.
On March 2, some 200 junta troops from Pakokku and Yesagyo raided Myaysuntaw, a village of over 400 households on Yay Lel Kyun Island, which forms the last wedge between the two rivers.
Junta troops torched the entire village and killed 11 elderly people in Myaysuntaw and nearby Malakarkyan village. In three other nearby villages they looted valuables and set fire to homes, according to the Yesagyo Township Information Committee.
“We can confirm that nine people from Myaysuntaw and two from Malarkankyan were killed. Most of the victims were elderly people who couldn’t get away quickly enough when junta troops raided their village,” a committee member said.
“But the villages were torched, so we’re afraid there may have been more victims who were completely consumed by the flames.”
Four residents who later returned to Myaysuntaw to check on the situation have gone missing, said residents.
The raids came in apparent revenge for the ambush of 180 junta troops in Yay Lel Kyun on Feb. 26, when anti-regime groups killed nine soldiers including a captain and captured nine others with their weapons, according to a resistance count.
The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the junta casualties. Following the attack, the regime brought in more troops.
One Yay Lel Kyun resident said: “We can only help each other at this difficult time. There may be other victims apart from those who were confirmed killed. They responded cruelly after their column suffered heavy casualties.”
Displaced civilians need emergency relief supplies, and villagers cannot go home as junta troops are still deployed in villages around the island.
One resistance source from Yay Lel Kyun suggested the ongoing military operations aim to crush the People’s Defense Forces in Yesagyo, Myaung and Myingyan on the border of Mandalay, Sagaing and Magwe regions.
On March 5, junta troops also attacked and seized the headquarters of resistance group Myingyan Black Tigers (MBT) near Zayetni village in Yay Lel Kyun. The MBT said they managed to kill a dozen junta soldiers in the fighting but were forced to withdraw later by junta air raids.
The regime also raided villages on the island in March 2022, destroying more than 180 houses in 25 villages, killing civilians, and looting valuables.
