Junta soldiers killed two people and set fire to houses when they attacked Sekant Village in the southwest of Sagaing region’s Kalay township from 7 to 10 October.

Many villagers were forced to flee their homes when the military started attacking the village with mortars and small arms fire at 8:00 a.m. on 7 October.

During that attack 67-year-old Grandmother Ngaike Hnem and her 14-year-old grandson Salai Van Bwai Liang were killed and the junta soldiers burned their bodies according to Salai Liang Pi, a spokesperson for the Chin National Organization- Upper Chindwin Region (CNO UCR).

He said: “Some of the villagers became aware of the disappearance of Ngaike Hnem and Salai Van Bwai Liang and attempted to reach out to the latter via phone on the morning on 8 October. Shockingly, a military soldier answered the deceased person's phone and confirmed that both of them had indeed died.”

He also said that the junta soldiers continued setting fire to the houses for four days, until 10 October.

At 6:30 a.m. on 8 October, they set fire to Sekant Village and smoke was visible until 6:00 p.m. On 9 October smoke was seen rising from four areas of the village and at about 9:00 a.m. on 10 October, another fire broke out in the village. It has been impossible to ascertain how many houses have been destroyed because junta soldiers are still stationed in the village.

Though the majority of villagers fled from Sekant Village, four people, two elderly men and two people with learning difficulties, remained in the village. Unfortunately, it has been impossible to contact them since the other villagers fled.

On the morning of 10 October, the junta soldiers left Sekant Village and started moving towards the nearby village of Shartaw, also in Kalay Township. As a result, villagers from nearby villages such as Shartaw, Myaungsone, Sintaw, and Sisan have fled their homes.