Mizzima

Myanmar junta troops killed an elderly man and destroyed roughly 680 homes in three villages in Sagaing Region’s Khin-U Township on 31 January, according to locals and defence forces.

At around 1:00 p.m. on 31 January about 150 junta troops carrying out operations in the southwest of Khin-U Township, set fire to houses in the villages of Byaingkyaing, Yonesu, and Nyaung Pin Gyi Su.

The troops stayed the night in Nyaung Pin Gyi Su Village before leaving on 1 February. Defence forces moved in on 2 February to help clear up the area.

According to a resident who was compiling a list of homes that had been burned down in the three villages, over 100 homes in Byaingkyaing Village, 430 homes in Yonesu Village, and 150 homes in Nyaung Pin Gyi Su Village had been burned down.

“Military Council troops torched houses in three villages, one after the other. Then they were stationed in Nyaung Pin Gyi Su Village for the night. After the Military Council soldiers left Nyaung Pin Gyi Su Village we went there to carry out a cleaning-up operation. We found an old man who had been killed and houses burnt to ashes”, said a local defence force fighter.

According to locals the dead man was an elder from Nyaung Pin Gyi Su Village who had been shot by junta troops.

A local people’s defence force (PDF) fighter was also killed in the attack, according to reports.

There was extensive damage to the villages. A woman from Byaingkyaing Village said: “When I returned to our village I could not recognise it because of the damage. When I saw that my house had been burned down my heart began to suffocate.”

Despite the callous attack residents are determined to support the revolution against the junta. "We cannot accept the Military Council army," said a Byaingkyaing villager, "We'll carry on the revolution with what we have."