By Sayar Ngaat / MPA
More than 65 mascaras, including the Butalin incident, have been committed by the military junta in Myanmar during the three years since the military seized power, according to a report released by ISP Myanmar on 21 October.
The junta’s mascaras of civilians are reportedly driven by greed and a desire for financial gain, according to a soldier who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) following the coup.
“They are oppressing civilians with guns, and it is not limited to the Butalin case. There have been many previous incidents where killings were motivated by greed and the desire for money. We have witnessed and experienced these events,” the soldier said.
Additionally, loyalist forces of the military and Pyu Saw Htee militias were responsible for 92 percent of mascaras. Among these incidents, Sagaing Region had the highest number, accounting for 52 percent, with each incident resulting in at least 10 civilian deaths, totaling over 1,307 fatalities, the report stated.
Furthermore, from 13 to 17 October, 2024, the military’s no.33 light infantry Division launched an offensive against several villages in Butalin Township, Sagaing Region, killing at least 20 residents in Seepa Village, according to statements issued by resistance forces.
Previously, on11 May, 2024, in Letu Taw Village, Yinmabin Township, Sagaing Region, the military conducted an assault without any prior combat, leading to the killing of 30 civilians inside a local monastery.
“During the 2021 Spring Revolution, the spirit of resistance among the people in central Myanmar was at its peak. As a result, Min Aung Hlaing saw central Myanmar as a major obstacle to his power and has been targeting the region with hostility,” said U Shin Thant, a member of the Monywa People Strike Steering Committee.
The military junta has intensified both ground and air assaults in Sagaing due to the strength of the resistance forces there, a representative from the Depayin Allies group stated.
“In Sagaing Region, there have been continuous airstrikes and ground assaults. Brutal killings have long been a reality in areas like Depayin Township, where people have been dismembered. There is no region as strong in the resistance as Sagaing, which is why the military is focusing its efforts there,” the representative added.
The military junta has engaged in mascaras, airstrikes, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, and destruction of civilian property, according to a report released by the Ministry of Human Rights of the National Unity Government (NUG) on 11 July, 2024.
According to records from the NUG’s Ministry of Human Rights, there were 4,656 documented human rights violations across the country in 2023, including mascaras. As of June 2024, an additional 3,121 incidents had been recorded.
