Junta soldiers killed six locals, including two tenth-grade students in Thaekone Village, Yinmarbin Township, Sagaing Region on 15 October according to villagers.

A junta military column entered Thaekone Village and attacked the villagers on 15 October and the bodies, of two tenth grade students and four men under the age of 35 were found on 16 October, according to a villager.

“They [the six villagers] initially came back to the village to check on the situation. They thought that they [the junta soldiers] had already left because they couldn’t see them. So, they [the six villagers] returned to the village. Then, the junta troops came out of their hiding places and arrested and killed the six men. They did not kill them using guns, they killed them by smashing in their heads.”

Prior to the junta troops entering Thaekone Village there had been fierce fighting in the area between the defence forces and the junta army, who reportedly suffered many casualties.

A Thaekone villager said: “It’s certain that some of them [the junta soldiers] were injured. They were apparently leaving Thaekone Village carrying stretchers.”

The junta column reportedly left Thaekone Village on 16 October with some villagers they had arrested and headed towards the villages of Yinpaungtaing and Myintharkone.

Recently junta troops have planted mines in and around villages as they leave them. As a result, defence forces have warned villagers not to rush back to their villages as soon as the junta soldiers leave. Instead, villagers should wait until defence forces have checked and cleared the villages.