“They (junta soldiers) forced everyone to sit in one place. Then they took the young men. They said they were hostages. Then they killed them, throwing them in the fire. Along with her husband, my younger brother, who was not able to speak or hear, was also killed.” 45-year-old Than Than Aye (name changed), who was freed, said her displeasure over the deaths of her husband and brother.
Around 50 junta soldiers and Pyu Saw Htee militiamen from Tawpu Pyu Saw Htee Village and Monywa Swan Yee Htet Gate (local name) near Myaenae Village, Monywa Township, Monywa District, entered and set fire to the village of Kyapaing without a fight at around 9:00 a.m. on December 2, 2023, and more than 140 houses were burned to the ground.
Local defense forces attacked the western part of Tawpu (Pyu Saw Htee militia) Village and burned more than 10 houses at around 3:00 p.m. on December 1, 2023. Because of this attack, the Tawpu Pyu militiamen spitefully burned Kyapaing Village back.
In the attack, villagers ran away without carrying their belongings, and some villagers were also arrested, and 11 of them were burned alive, it was investigated.
Than Than Aye (name changed), who was released after being arrested, said that the villagers who were caught by junta soldiers and Pyu militiamen were forced to sit and watch the burning people alive, and if they found any weapons to resist, they would shoot them all and put them in the fire.
She also said that the bodies of the 11 people were collected by the local defense forces the next day.
She continued to say, “They were tied up with tin wire. Then they twisted it with pliers. They can’t even move their bodies.”
Locals who witnessed the burning explained to MPA that about 50 soldiers and Pyu militiamen from Tawpu Village entered and set fire to the village. They yelled at them and said, “You guys burned only 10 houses. We will burn the whole village down.”
Tawpu Pyu Saw Htee Village and Kyapaing Village are very close, and it takes only five minutes to walk. Only a small cart path separates the two villages.
In the past, Pyu Saw Htee militia and the soldiers from that village used to enter Kyapaing Village to take the food they needed. It is learned that they wanted to take revenge in the attack on their village that happened at around 9:00 a.m. on December 2, 2023. They accused that Kyapaing was the PDF-supporting village and burned it.
“In the past, when they needed food, they used to grab the food. Now, I thought it was like before; I did not take any things, and I have lost everything. 11 villagers were also sealed in the house and burned to death,” said Soe Nyein (name changed), who knew about the incident. She continued to explain that even the house she owned was destroyed during the arson.
After the soldiers and Pyu Saw Htee militia set fire to the houses and people in Kyapaing Village, the bodies were badly burnt, so no one could identify them and had to pick up the pieces one by one, a local defense soldier said.
As a result of the burning and destruction by junta troops from Tawpu Village, more than 2,000 people from Kyapaing Village are still fleeing from December 2, 2023, until February 11, 2024.
Living side by side with Pyu Saw Htee Village, Kyapaing villagers face the dangers of heavy weapons daily, and there are dead people due to heavy weapons.
In addition to the daily fear of heavy weapons fired by Pyu Saw Htee militia, Kyapaing villagers fear to return home because junta soldiers and Pyu militia burned their village and 11 villagers alive.
At present, the local people fleeing from Kyapaing Village are badly living in IDP shelters and temporary huts on the side of the creek. After the arson attack, they have been displaced for more than two months.
At present, if there are onion-harvesting jobs in the villages near IDP camps, they go harvest onions on a daily wage to make a living. Some also said that they live in safe places near the village of Kyapaing and monitor the situation in the village to be able to return.
“I was living in a hut near the creek. My toraji (a power tiller vehicle equipped with a body), on which I depended to make a living, was also caught in the fire. I didn’t even have a single piece of clothing. It’s winter, so it’s not just food. It’s hard to live. Now I’m staying on the bank of the creek where there can get some water,” said Sein Lwin (name changed) who is a Kyapaing villager.
Kyapaing villagers said that when the nearby villages open onion harvesting jobs, they go work as a daily wage worker, but it doesn’t need to go every day, and it is not convenient in the long run. Than Than Aye, who lost her husband and brother, was among those who had to go to an onion-harvesting job.
The IDP camp where she is currently living has a population of over 1,500 and the cost of a meal is between MMK 1,500,000 and 1,000,000, explained Phoe Nyo (name changed), who is helping displaced people.
“It depends on the curry. If we cook chicken potato curry, it costs about MMK 1,500,000. We can’t feed it always. It depends on the financial situation. If we don’t have much money, we can only cook tomato and bean curry. Even so, we can’t cook it every day,” Phoe Nyo said with a sigh.
He also said that there were many donors when first started fleeing, but now there are almost no donors. While facing these problems, there is a lack of clean water, and some people, both young and old, are suffering from skin diseases.
“Itching is the most common; it must be because of unsanitary water. And there are a majority of people; the camp is crowded. Since living in the village, there have been people with skin diseases, and that’s where it starts,” a woman providing health care to IDPs explained to MPA.
After the military coup, Kyapaing Village was no longer able to open a school for children, and they had to continue their education with tutoring groups. However, children’s education was also stopped after this arson.
“Children just sleep, eat, and play,” said a displaced woman with a laugh.
It is reported that Tawpu Pyu Saw Htee Village and Kyapaing Village had good relations before the military coup, but after the military coup, they no longer have relations.
“Residents of Kyapaing do farming business. There are many farmers (self-employed). Most residents of Tawpu are daily wage earners. In the harvest season, we used to offer them work. After the coup, Tawpu became Pyu Saw Htee (a militia under the junta) village right away. They took chickens. We had to stay silent. Our things get looted. We couldn’t take action against them because our village might be something. We planted. They took. We, owners, just had to sit and watch whatever they did,” said Thein Win (name changed), a villager of Kyapaing.
Before the military takeover, Kyapaing Village had good transportation, health, economy, and education. But after the military takeover, the village is now looking like a ruin due to the hands of the Pyu Saw Htee militia.
“It used to be fun. Transportation is good. Everything is fine. There were also medical clinics. There was also a high school,” Thein Win said.
Some of them fear Pyu Saw Htee militia from Tawpu village, so they don’t dare to go to work in their own farms, and they could mainly work in betel leaf planting in betel gardens that are far away from the village.
Then Win continued, “I don’t dare to go near the village anymore. Pyu militias often set fire to the betel gardens near the village. So, we only have to work in the betel gardens that are far away from the village.”
The people of Kyapaing Village miss their village and home every day, but they keep suppressed their nostalgia for fear of Pyu Saw Htee’s attack, and they struggle to focus on getting enough meals for a day staying away from the village.
Than Than Aye, who was freed from the arrest of the junta soldiers and Tawpu Pyu Saw Htee militia, has lost her husband and brother, but despite the current difficulties, one last hope is driving her.
“Until now, I still can’t get over it. I also have a child (11 years old), so I have to pull myself together and do odd jobs for a living. In that way, I can feed him when he wants to eat something,” said Than Than Aye, her voice becoming soft and weak.