Locals say that the 50th Infantry Battalion Column based in Gangaw, Magway Region, at around 10:00 am today, April 7th with more than 80 soldiers were marching to raid, causing more than 7,000 local residents to flee.
As the column entered Po Oo village, which is about 5 miles east of Gangaw town this morning, 2,000 people having more than 400 households were also forced to flee.
“The column has left Po Oo village. Now it is approaching Lar Port village by shooting heavy weapons recklessly,” a local told MPA at around 12 o’clock today.
The villagers said that the SAC troops from the 50th Infantry Battalion had searched the Po Oo village monastery and the houses around the monastery yesterday, April 6th.
Then, on April 7th, at around 8:00 this afternoon, they crossed the fields in the north of Po Oo village and moved to another place, so the residents were forced to flee again.
“At around 9:20 this morning, they entered Lar Port village and deployed,” a resident told MPA.
As a result of the column’s heavy weapons fire, two houses in Lar Port village burned down, and more than 7,000 local residents of villages such as Lar Port, Po Oo, Ywa Si, and Myin Zar are said to have fled.