Myanmar Spring Chronicle – August 09 Scenes
MoeMaKa, August 10 2022
Battles and burning of villages in Sagaing & Kayah, Retaliatory attacks In Pakokku and Myaing, Monks leading Pro Military Groups
In recent days, we had read news about burning and destroying villages of Depayin Township in Sagaing Division and the villages along the Chindwin River. Unarmed people were accused as resistance members and killed by Myanmar military. Some sick and old people lost their lives in the arson fire set by the junta columns. We had also heard news that the military council columns were destroying the villages along the Chindwin River as retaliating against the interception attacks by PDF of the food, weapons and ammunition, which they transported through water routes along the river.
Residents in villages that had not been destroyed were also worried that they would be burned sooner or later. The residents of the villages that had been burned were also not able to relax. They were back in their temporary tents in the village, but they have to listen and look out to the news of the military council troops, and because the phone lines have been cut. Sometimes they didn’t get the news right away, and knew late only after when the junta arrived into the very village. According to reports and inquiries, there were cases where the villagers didn’t have time to escape when the junta soldiers entered some villages by helicopters.
Not all villages in Upper Sagaing were burned. There were some villages where the USDP and pro army supporters lived still intact. In such villages, there were also cases that NLD supporters in these villages left their houses and fled. A local said that some remaining people in the village were taking over the houses and properties of those who had fled, as if they owned the houses. Although the population and villages that support the military were not that much, they were still holding their area in the region.
The news reported that in a village on the Pakkoku-Myaing side, the PDF entered and opened fire, killing nearly a dozen army supporters and wounding ten others recent days. It was not that the country is divided into two parts, but it was true that there were some regions and villages in the mix where military supporters were strong, based on their belief on extreme patriotism siding with Myanmar army and USDP pro army party.
There were situations where the tactic of giving weapons and military training to the local people who were recruited by Myanmar military as “Pith Sit”, pro army militias and some called themselves as Pyu Saw Htee. This tactic does not work in ethnic areas, but in the villages and regions where the majority of Bamar (Burmans) lived and already had many supporters of the USDP party. This divide & rule strategy seemed to be reliable & effective to a certain extent countering PDF’s advances.
There were some villages that had been armed by the army and some Pyu Saw Htee groups were formed and led by leading buddhist monk in Kantbalu Township. There are also additional Pyu Saw Htee groups in Pauk Township that are led and stationed in some Buddhist monasteries. So we could say that Myanmar military s using Buddhist religion as weapon of their war against PDF.
Another piece of news these days was clashes broke out around Demawso and Loikaw in Kayah State. The military council troops attacked with air support, and military-backed Telegram channels reported many deads of local People Defense Forces such as from KNDF. KNDF had issued statement in recent days that it was still not safe for the residents to return to their homes and not to stay in villages and wards where the military council troops were camping.
Another piece of news is that the PDF groups attacked at 6:00 a.m. based on the information that the junta were preparing to give Pyu Saw Htee military training in Twinma village in Myaing Township, Pakokku District.
The news published by the PDF stated that 34 people were killed, while the military council said that 11 people were killed and 17 were injured. The PDF attacked the villages that were working to form Pyu Saw Htee groups.